Home
by itsLisey
Summary: Emily didn't notice Maya St. Germaine strutting up her sidewalk until her voice, the voice that startled Emily out of even the darkest daydream, whispered into her ear.
1. Home

Emily Fields, a box in her hand, stumbled down the steps of her house to the waiting car outside. After all the years she spent dreaming of leaving Rosewood, the day had finally come and she didn't want it at all. The box felt heavy in Emily's arms despite it only holding a few odds and ends from her bedroom. She shoved it in the trunk of the car, careful not to crush anything, and slammed it shut. All that was left in her house was the furniture that wasn't coming with them and the piece of her wall Toby had cut off. Mrs. Fields feigned anger, but Emily knew that somewhere buried deep inside her mother was appreciation. She didn't want to see that wall go anymore than Emily did. That was a symbol of happier times when her daughters wasn't gay.

Even the sky seemed gloomy, Emily noticed. Aria, Spencer and Hanna weren't allowed to come and say goodbye. The girls had secretly snuck into the bathrooms at school and said their goodbyes there. Emily dug in her purse for her phone and stared at it. All she wanted to do was call one of them, any one of them, and tell them she needed them. It wasn't fair. They didn't do anything wrong. They should be allowed to see each other. They're the only ones to understand...

Emily sunk down onto the porch and laid her head on the railing. So many summers she spent sitting on the porch contemplating her feelings. Feelings for Alison, feelings for Mya, feelings for life... it all seemed to end up spilled on this porch. Did they have a porch in Texas? A single tear slipped down Emily's cheek. As much as she hated Rosewood, the idea of leaving it behind was too much. Her mom insisted that this would only last a year but Emily knew better. They were never coming back. This was the opportunity that her mom was waiting for; get Emily away from the girls, from the spotlight, from Alison's murder and hopefully from her "gay behavior". It was the new chapter Mrs. Fields wanted nothing more to begin.

Lost in her thoughts, Emily didn't even notice the car rolling down the street. She didn't notice when it stopped in front of her house or when a young girl with chocolate skin and beautiful black soft wavy hair stepped out. Emily didn't notice Maya St. Germaine strutting up her sidewalk until her voice, the voice that startled Emily out of even the darkest daydream, whispered into her ear.

"Hey, stranger."

It was like a lightning bolt shot through Emily's veins. Emily's eyes, wide as tea saucers, scanned the entire length of Maya's body before she even had a second thought. Maya wrapped her arms around Emily's neck, almost in a teasing way, and slipped from Emily's lap to the empty space next to her on the porch. Emily, her hand still clutched in Maya's, stared, mouth agape.

"You can't," Emily shook her head and broke the connection. "You can't be here." The smile slipped from Maya's face.

"Your mom finally got to you," she said deadpanned. "I should have figured. Let me guess, you're straight again?"

"_No," _Emily hissed. "I just can't do this."

"Emily, I'm home. For good."

"And I'm leaving." Emily stood, folded her arms against her stomach, and began walking down the drive. It was too much to see Maya. How could Emily leave when the first real love of her life was sitting on her porch? Emily thought Maya was gone forever.

"Just like you to run away from a fight," Maya muttered.

"Excuse me?" Emily shook her head. Not the point, Emily. Not the point. "I'm leaving as in leaving, leaving. We're moving. To Texas."

It was quiet. Maya was standing there mirroring Emily now with her arms wrapped around her middle.

"What about Aria," said Maya, sucking in a deep pocket of air. Emily was sure she hadn't been breathing since she told her that she was moving. "-and Hanna, and Spencer?"

"I'm not allowed to see them anymore. Long story," Emily laughed a little, tucking a piece of hair that flew from behind her ear. She pointed to the car behind her packed with all their stuff. "We're leaving today. In a few minutes, actually. Mom wants to drive down there. She says it will give us time to talk. Great, right?" Mya wasn't laughing. She stepped closer to Emily, arms dropped to her sides now, and when she was only inches away brought a single smooth hand to caress Emily's face. "I-I can't, Maya."

"We never even got the chance to find out what this was," Their foreheads touched and each girl closed their eyes, breathing in the smell of the other. Emily wanted to tilt her head just a little so their lips would touch but she knew if they did she wouldn't be able to pull away. Maya was intoxicating.

"If I kiss you," Emily whispered. "I won't be able to stop."

"Then kiss me." Their eyes were open now. Maya was grinning. The whole world around them seemed to stop. Emily brought her own hand up and grazed Maya's shoulder, traced up her neck and tickled Maya's jaw line. Her hands dropped down again to intertwine with Maya's.

"Emily?" The sound of her mothers voice came crashing down against Emily like a 30ft wave. "Oh, Maya." said a surprised Mrs. Fields. "Maya..."

"Maya's back." said Emily, a fake smiled across her face. "And I'm leaving. I bet you're happy."

"Emily let's not start this." Mrs. Fields said. "Please, we have to go soon."

"No." Emily shouted. "I don't want to go. I don't want to leave Rosewood, not yet. Not like this. I want to go to Aria's tonight and eat popcorn and watch some stupid movie with Spencer and Hanna. And tomorrow, I want to eat lunch with them in the cafeteria like we always do. This weekend I want to spend the night at Spencer's and the weekend after that I want to got to a movie. I want to date her-" she pointed a thin finger at Maya, who was now looking very uncomfortable. "-because I _like _her. I like girls, mom and that's not going to change just because we live in Texas. You know that, don't you?"

"-of course I-"

"-my friends aren't even here because all of you won't let them! I'm leaving for a year or more and I can't even say goodbye to my friends properly. They're my _best friends. _They understand me, which is something you have never even tried to do-"

"-I try-"

"-and you never will try to do because you're never going to like who I am! I love dad and I love you but I am not getting in that car."

"Oh and where do you think you're going to stay?" Mrs. Fields shouted back. "You are sixteen years old. You belong with your family."

"I have more than one family," Emily shook with anger now. Her voice, unsteady and low, shook through her body. "Spencer, Hanna and Aria are my family too."

"Get in the car." Emily's mom seethed through clenched teeth. Emily turned around, grabbed Maya and kissed her. They had never kissed like this before; so full of passion, longing and want. Emily let her hands roam along Maya's thin frame and finally rest at her hips. Maya stumbled backwards at Emily's force but caught herself on the hood of the Fields' car. Emily pushed herself into Maya as much as she could until there was no space between them. She could hear her mom in the background telling her to stop, to pull away, but only the desperate need for air finally tugged Emily and Maya's lips apart. Adrenaline rushed through Emily's body; it wasn't just from the kiss, but from doing something so inappropriate and so tantalizingly dangerous in front of her mother was almost as intoxicating as the girl in front of her.

Mrs. Fields was crying now. Emily didn't know if it was because she finally had the eye witness proof of her daughters sexuality or because Emily had just screamed her head off at her, but fat tears were rolling down her cheeks. Momentarily, Emily felt bad, but then she remembered all the tears she has cried because of her mother. Emily wasn't going to feel bad. Not this time.

"You will stay," Mrs. Fields took a long gulp of air. "-with the Montgomery's. Not with _her,_" she pointed at Maya. "I'll call them now. You still won't be allowed contact with the other girls unless Ella says so." Emily felt a great weight in her stomach rise and disappear. What was her mom saying? "On Christmas, Easter, and any other holiday you will be flying down to us. This includes any long weekends you might have. I don't care how much homework you need to get down. You will fly down to use and do it in Texas." She was rustling through her purse now looking for her phone. "I suggest you start pulling out what boxes and bags are yours," she nodded to the car. "You will need most of your things. Clothes, and stuff. I can send you an allowance once a week for anything you might need." Emily could hardly believe what her mom was saying. She unlatched the trunk instantly and began pull out all the boxes she had written her name on. Now, she wished she hadn't been so hastily labeling them. Her and Maya had to rip open tape and look inside. In the end, Emily found most of her clothes and things she thought were important. All of her things related to Alison had already been placed carefully in her bag. Emily went to her car, which her mom said they would later bring down, and began stuffing in the contents of her life. Maya helped, the girls sneaking quick, flirty glances at each other, while in the background Mrs. Fields was on the phone with Ella Montgomery. Emily realized much too late that moving the boxes could be premature; would Ella even let her stay with everything that has been happening?

Emily's mom ended her phone call and walked to the girls. She had perfected the art of ignoring Maya's presence. Her tears had faded now, but her eyes were red and puffy.

"Ella agreed," she whispered. "Is this really what you want?"

"It's what I want," said Emily. "And it's also what I need." Mrs. Fields coughed to cover up a small sob. Emily stepped forward to hug her mother but Mrs. Fields stepped back; this, not her mothers words, was more painful. Maya recognized the hurt on Emily's face and clutched her hand tightly in her own. Mrs. Fields ignored the gesture.

"You'll call," Emily's mom muttered. "You'll call and you'll visit. I will add some money to your bank account so the Montgomery's don't have to pay for everything."

"Okay."

"You need to continue going to church."

"Okay."

"Make sure you stay away from Hanna and Spencer. I can't very well keep you and Aria separate now, but the rules still apply."

"Okay."

"Don't go making any more trouble for the police."

"Okay."

"Stay away from Toby."

"Okay."

"I expect top grades."

"I know."

"Goodbye, then." Mrs. Fields turned on her heels and walked to the drivers side of the car. Maya shoved Emily forward towards her mother.

"Go," she mouthed. Before Mrs. Fields could get into her door, Emily slipped her arms around her mother and hugged her. It was a hug Emily had never given her before; even before Emily came out, Mrs. Fields was always the colder parent. But Emily hugged her mother and her mother hugged back. Emily's face felt wet but she wasn't sure if it was from her tears or her mothers. When they pulled apart, Mrs. Fields didn't look at her daughter.

"I love you, mom." Emily said. Mrs. Fields sat with her hands on the steering wheel, staring forward. For a second, Emily thought her mom was going to close the car door and leave without saying the words back to her. Instead, Mrs. Fields climbed out of her car and once again reached for her daughter. Their hug didn't last as long, but Emily felt in the hug what her mom would never be able to say.

_I accept you._

"I love you too, Emily." Her mom still didn't look at her as she got back in her car and shut the door. The car pulled away from the curb and winded down the long streets of Rosewood. Soon, Emily couldn't see it. She turned around and found Maya still standing there, tears in her eyes, and arms welcoming Emily back. Emily fell into them and soaked in every inch of Maya. Emily kissed her lips and down Maya's jaw until she reached her beautifully carved chocolate neck. The sound of a car backfiring in the distance reminded Emily how public the two of them were and she pulled herself away. Breathless, Emily fell against the side of her car, letting her shoulder graze Maya's.

"We could go back to my house," Maya offered. Emily almost said yes. "No one is home."

"No." she said. "I should get to Aria's. They know I'm coming."

"You're right." Slyly, Maya slid in front of Emily and closed the space between them. Her lips hovered just above Emily's, taunting her. "When will I see you again?" Maya's hand slipped under the hem of Emily's shirt, lightly grazing the skin there. Her thumb moved in slow circles on Emily's hip now. Maya's other hand came up and brushed hair from Emily's face.

"I..." Emily looked down at Maya, at her slender body, pushed against her own. She licked her lips. "I think I could spare a few minutes."

Two hours later, Emily pulled up in front of the Montgomery's spacious home. Aria was sitting on the porch. She leapt up at Emily's sight and rushed down the steps to greet her.

"Your mom called hours ago!" Aria hissed. "Where have you been? I was worried something happened. After last night at Spencer's with the text from Ian..."

"Maya's home," Emily smiled, leaving it at that.


	2. Hot

**Every one seemed to like the one-shot I did, so I decided to turn it into a chapter story. I'm not promising a plot and I'm not promising consistent chapters. It's mostly going to be chapters loosely based off the first one and containing primarily fluff. So if you enjoy the romantic fluff, add this story to your alerts so you know when (and if) it's updated. Leave a review and let me know what type of situations you want from Maya/Emily. Also, let me know if you would like to see any Ezra/Aria, Hanna/Caleb or Spencer/Toby. **

It had been a week since Emily moved in to the Montgomery's. Aria and Emily spent most of their days lounging about the house after school. They were still forbidden to see Spencer and Hanna even if they were allowed to see each other. Ella surveyed the cafeteria every day to keep an eye on the girls. Aria and Emily sat at a table in the farthest corner away from Aria's mother to avoid being overheard. Hanna and Spencer would sit just far enough away that it didn't look like they were participating in the conversation but, with phones in their laps, Aria, Emily, Spencer and Hanna communicated with fervent glances and text messages.

Wednesday, like every night before it, Aria and Emily laid sprawled out on the floor of Aria's bedroom. Their books were laid out in front of them and a half empty pizza box rested in the middle. The books were not the top of their priorities, though. Tucked in their hands, each girl had a phone out. Aria was texting Spencer and Emily was texting Hanna. The door to Aria's bedroom swung open and Ella stepped inside.

"We're leaving now, girls." She glanced down at their books. "Finish your homework. We should be home by eight or so. And remember, no leaving the house."

'We're not going to hang out with Spence or Hanna," Aria grumbled. "Could you just trust us a little?"

"I do trust you." sighed Ella. "We'll be back by ten. Mike should be home by eight or so. Make sure that pizza box gets down to the trash, it's garbage night." She shut the door behind her. Emily and Aria waited for the car outside to start and drive away from the house before they even dared to breathe. It was the first time that Ella and Byron were both gone at the same time. Byron had an event for the college that Ella was accompanying him too. Aria flew from the floor and snatched her laptop before Emily even had time to shut her book.

"Text Han," spluttered Aria. She was already logging onto skype. All four girls had been waiting for this opportunity where their parents were gone. They couldn't risk being seen together, but if none of their parents were home, they would never know they all had a skype date. Hanna's mom didn't come home from work for another two hours at least and Spencer was spending most of her days in her room anyway. Her parents, both workaholics, never took the time to check in on her. First Hanna's face popped up on Aria's screen, and then Spencer's.

"They're finally gone," moaned Aria. "They have been watching me and Em like hawks. We're barely left alone."

"At least you're together," Hanna said, taking a long sip from her diner-sized tea cup. "You have someone there. We don't have any other friends, remember?"

"Everyone thinks we're crazy." Spencer chimed. "I don't blame them. We _look _crazy."

"We're _not _crazy." muttered Emily. "A is the one that's crazy. Ian is crazy. We look sane compared to them."

"Speaking of A," Spencer lowered her voice to a hushed whisper. "Has anyone received any texts? It's unusual for A to be this quiet." Aria look at Emily, who looked at Aria, who looked back at the computer screen. Neither of them had received any texts and judging by the silence on Hanna's end, she hadn't either. "Why aren't we getting texts?"

"Shouldn't we be happy about that? Why are we acting like this is a bad thing? Quite frankly, I'm okay with not getting creepy stalker texts anymore."

"Be careful what you wish for, Han," Spencer said darkly. "You could get one now."

Hanna ignored Spencer. "Did you give Fitz his degree back?" Biting her lip, Aria shook her head and glanced at her phone. A wasn't the only one being quiet with the text messages. Ezra hadn't contacted her in days. With her mom and dad watching her and Emily so closely, Aria hadn't had the chance to even sneak away to Ezra's. They had left their relationship on a bad note.

"I think I'm going to try and go over there tomorrow." she looked at Emily. "If Em will cover for me?"

"Of course." Emily grabbed another slice of pizza from the box. It was cold, but Emily had been emotionally eating for days now. It was a bad habit. She only put up with it and allowed it to happen because she got such a good workout from swimming every day. "I don't have practice after school so why don't we tell your mom we're going to the library? I have an exam to study for anyway."

"Pizza..." Spencer groaned. "I'm so hungry. My parents have me eating dinner with them every night now. They're making a point to get home on time. Why do they have to choose now to become parents?"

"Maybe we made a mistake." Aria and Emily's eyes darted towards Hanna's box. "Maybe we should have just told the shrink about A."

"Hanna," Aria let out a huge puff of air. "Are you kidding me? She had Ezra's degree. It was a warning. If we had told, she would have told about Ezra and me."

"Look, Aria. Don't get mad. But maybe you and Fitz should cool down for a bit until all of this is taken care of. You guys are risking a lot." Somewhere deep inside, Aria knew Spencer was telling the truth. If A spilled the beans about Ezra and Aria, Ezra would lose his job and his reputation forever. Ezra was risking a lot more than Aria was. If they ended it now, there would be no proof that there was ever any relationship. A would have nothing on her. But the green of Ezra's eyes and the feel of his hand caressing her ivory cheek was too much to miss. It was selfish, but Aria was in love with him.

The doorbell ringing took Aria out of her trance. Emily, eagerly looking for an escape from the awkward Fitz conversation, offered to go grab the door. She left Aria behind and hurried down the stairs. When she opened it, Maya was standing before her.

The two hadn't spoken much since their last encounter. They had gone further than they ever had in their relationship, but before it got too involved Emily left for Aria's. School had been so rushed and busy that Emily never even noticed if Maya had come back. It had been nearly a week, and suddenly Emily felt ashamed for not having even texted. Maya didn't look all that pleased either. She stood in the door, her hair slicked straight, with a crooked frown and her arms folded against her middle. Emily stepped aside to allow Maya room to come in.

"I'm sorry," It came out more of a whine than an apology. Emily closed the door behind Maya and they went into the Montgomery's living room. Somewhere upstairs, Aria was sure to be filling in Spencer and Hanna on all the juicy details Emily spilled the night she moved in.

"_Maya's...back?" Aria stuttered. "Like, for good?"_

"_She showed up." shrugged Emily, trying to play it off. "I was sitting on my porch and she came up and honestly, it felt like nothing changed. When she said she was back... something inside me broke. I knew if I left, I would never see her again."_

"_My oh my, Emily, you romantic." teased Aria. The two fell onto Aria's bed and Emily stared at the ceiling, dreaming of the past few hours she spent with Maya. Playfully, she smacked Aria on the arm at her tease. "So what happened? Did you guys... you know?"_

"_No." she responded immediately. "I-I'm not ready for that. I don't think I am." There was a quiet between the girls. Even when Alison was alive, talking about their love lives was awkward and then Emily wasn't out. "Have you and Fitz?"_

"_Definitely not." Aria paused thoughtfully for a moment. "But I want to. I know we can't though. Ezra would get in so much trouble..." _

"_As if he's not going to get in enough trouble already."_

"_We're not doing anything wrong!" said Aria defensively. Emily raised an eyebrow. "I mean, not technically. The age of consent is 16. Him being my teacher is the only problem, and he got a job at Hollis. He won't be my teacher for much longer." _

"_It will always be wrong, you know that, right? Maybe not to me and the girls. But in the eyes of every one else, he was your teacher once. They're always going to judge you." It wasn't something Aria had never thought of before. She knew the situation would always be muddled with distaste. "I can tell you love him, though."_

"_How?" Aria said, surprised._

"_The look you get in your eyes." Emily sighed. "It's the same look I had for Alison. I could recognize it anywhere."_

"_Do you love Maya?" _

"_Tonight was amazing," admitted Emily. "Maya has this way of pulling me in. I," red rose onto her cheeks. "I lose control when I'm with her. It's like my brain just shuts down completely. I don't know what it is." _

"_You should call her."_

"_I know," Emily bit her lip. "But, I mean, earlier... _wow._" The two burst into a fit of mad giggles. For a moment, it was like old times when Alison was alive and they were all so young and not-so-innocent-but-innocent-enough. "She is a _great _kisser. Ben was never like that, you know? I thought it was me. I just thought I didn't like kissing. I thought maybe Alison was the only kiss I'd ever have that I..." Another blush crept up her cheeks. "-liked, you know?"_

"_You really loved Alison, didn't you?"_

"_Yes," whispered Emily. "I did." Aria snuggled into the crevice of Emily's arm. The two laid there, each thinking about their love lives. "Maya and I came really close," Emily admitted. Aria lifted her head a bit to look at her best friend. "I stopped her. I-I don't think she was mad, but I left after that. It was just a lot to take in all at one moment. At first when we got to her house, we just talked. We talked for a straight hour. She told me all about where she had gone and why she couldn't call. She asked me about why you, me, Hanna and Spencer couldn't talk anymore. We were just laying there on her bed and I probably could have laid there all day."_

"_But she kissed you?"_

"_No, I kissed her. She was just lying there and I was really happy. I was staying in Rosewood and living here with you and I had this girl holding me in her arms. I just turned around and kissed her. At first, I thought I would just leave it at a simple kiss. But we kept going. It was months of being separated pent up all coming out and..." Emily was speaking at a rapid pace now._

"_It's okay, Em. I understand."_

"_-we, um, well she slipped her hand under my shirt. That's when I started getting nervous. At first it was just making out and I could handle that. But then she started taking my shirt off."_

"_Did you tell her to stop?"_

"_I didn't give her the chance," Emily rolled over so Aria couldn't see the pain etched across her face. "When my shirt came off, something snapped. I pushed her away from me, grabbed my shirt, and took off down the stairs."_

"_Emily!" Aria grabbed Emily's shoulder and rolled her over to look straight in her eyes. "You have to call her. She probably thinks you hate her." _

"_Thanks, Aria. Thanks."_

"_I'm just saying." _

"_I know." Emily did know. She pressed Maya's speed dial button and almost hit send. She hit cancel instead. _

"You've been avoiding me," Maya didn't sit when Emily gestured for her to do so. Instead she stayed standing all while gazing pointedly at Emily. Emily's face flushed.

"I haven't been avoiding you," said Emily quickly. "I promise. I just haven't seen you at school, and the Montgomery's have me and Aria on lockdown. It's hard to get out."

"You have a cell phone."

"I know." Emily looked at the phone clutched in her hand. "I know, I'm sorry."

"Are you mad at me?"

"No!"

"Are you... disgusted with me?"

"No, Maya-"

"-is it something I said-"

"-Maya, no, please-"

"-well then what is it, Emily? Do you not want this?"

"I want this!" Emily yelled. Maya, caught off guard by her raise in volume, shut her mouth. "I want this more than anything. I don't have a lot of happy in my life right now and you make me so happy. Hell, if you hadn't showed up when you did I would be in Texas right now." She collapsed on the couch behind her, letting her body soak into the plush cushions. With her legs pulled up to her chest, Emily buried her face in her knees. Across the room, Maya's anger seemed to vanish. Instead it was replaced by genuine curiosity. She let herself fall down to the ground in front of Emily. Her own hands snaked through the puzzle that Emily had contorted herself into and found where Emily's were. Maya held her hands tightly, afraid that if she loosened them Emily would slip away for good.

"Please," she whispered. "Just tell me."

"I want you," Emily's voice seemed to be somewhere far away; in its place was a low, gravely voice masked by a few tears that trickled down her face. It was almost like she had lost her voice. She pressed forward, not even bothering to wipe away the tears. "And it scares me. You had to leave once before and I don't think I can handle that again. Too many people have left."

"Alison?"

"Of course Alison," Emily choked with a twinge of laughter. It wasn't because the thought of Alison was funny, but because the thought that Alison was gone made Emily made with anger. She left the girls with such a mess. "There is so much more that I wish I could tell you but I can't. I'm afraid its going to tear us apart."

"Are you afraid of the secret tearing us apart or what the secret _is _tearing us apart? There is a difference."

"I don't know," Emily said truthfully. "I can't tell you, though. And you need to know that it has nothing to do with you."

"I can deal with that," said Maya. "But that doesn't explain why you left. Were we moving too fast?"

"Yes," Emily said. "No. Yes and no. I'm just so afraid of giving you my everything and turning around and finding you gone. I gave Alison everything I had and she took it with her when she died. I finally rebuilt myself, and you come along."

"Emily," Maya kissed her hand. "I will never pressure you into doing something you're not ready for. I can't promise that we will be together forever, but I can promise that I will never break you on purpose. I don't plan on being murdered and I don't plan on being sent away again. I know that Alison meant more to you than I think any of us, even your friends, understand. But I fell in love with you the first time I saw you."

"You love me?" Lightning seemed to have struck Emily's heart. Maya tucked a stray piece of hair behind Emily's ear. She didn't kiss her and she didn't do anything more than look into Emily's dark brown eyes, but something inside of Emily melted. She didn't need Maya to answer. She knew the answer. Emily reached forward and did what she knew Maya had been aching to do since she walked in the door. With one hand, Emily gently pulled Maya towards her and kissed her. Her legs had fallen from her chest and were now positioned on either side of Maya, who was still kneeling on the ground. With one swift, lifting movement, Maya came from her seat on the ground to straddle Emily's waist. Maya kissed down Emily's neck until she reached her collarbone; Emily had forgotten how fantastically wonderful Maya's lips felt there. She yanked Maya back to her mouth and kissed her hungrily, running her hands through Maya's perfectly straightened dark black hair. She could feel Maya moving her hips against her own and Emily felt a fire burning in the pit of her stomach. Neither of the girls heard the front door open and snap shut.

"Hot," Mike, Aria's younger brother, choked out. Emily, seething and embarrassed, grabbed the nearest pillow and chucked it as hard as she could at the gaping Mike. Laughing hysterically, he took the stairs two at a time to his bedroom.

"Oh my god," Emily groaned, letting Maya slide off her lap. Her legs still laid across Emily's lap, and Maya just shot her a cheeky grin. Letting her head rest in her hands behind her, Maya muttered,

"At least we know we're hot."


	3. Tomorrow

As the car slid to a stop in front of Aria's apartment, she thought her heart stopped. Emily was looking at her expectantly waiting for her to get out of the car, but Aria's legs couldn't move. For days Aria had been sitting in Ezra Fitz classroom looking anywhere but at him. He didn't ask her questions or ask for comments on the reading. Ezra ignored her just as much as Aria was ignoring him. She told herself it was better this way; if Aria looked, if she gave into those eyes, everyone would know that she was in love with Ezra Fitz. There would be no hiding it.

"What time should I pick you up?" said Emily tentatively.

"I'll text you." Her legs finally moved just an inch. Aria's finger laced through the door handle and pulled. When she was out on the sidewalk and Emily had pulled away, part of her felt like running. Her house wasn't too far. She could make it.

Instead, she turned around and climbed the stairs to 3B.

A had stolen the key so Aria had to knock. This made her uncomfortable. The longer she stood in the hallway, the longer it was before someone noticed she was there. No one had ever passed her before waiting outside Ezra's apartment or fiddling with his door handle. That means there are no witnesses to her ever coming to Ezra's apartment. It could be over and erased from society just like that. A would have nothing. Aria could leave. The pressure could be over...

If she had decided to leave, the thought was erased from her memory when Ezra opened the door. He was wearing a tight white sleep shirt that showed off the toned muscles underneath. She may have acted cool and collectedly the day she came over and found Ezra shirtless, but inside she was twisting and turning. He leaned against the door frame, not so much letting her him, and tilted his head.

"What are you doing here?"

"I want to talk." His arm dropped and instead flew up and out pointing at the inside of his apartment.

"Come in," Ezra said in a sing-song voice. "You haven't talked to me in days, and now you want to talk?"

"You didn't talk to me either," Aria's eyes narrowed.

"Because I couldn't," he snapped. "Because talking to you, and not knowing what we are, would have killed me." Guiltily, knowing that it wasn't the right time, Aria pulled his degree from her bag and set it on the table. Ezra, a quizzical look on his face, took two long strides over to where she had placed it and picked it up. His eyes snapped from the framed degree to her face. Aria felt smaller than she ever had in her life. "Why do you have this? Did you," he stopped, looking at it again. "Did you take this? From my apartment? Why?"

'"I didn't," she said quickly. "I didn't, I swear. I found it."

"You found it?"

"I found it."

"It was in my apartment. In fact," he pointed above his desk where he had pinned it to the wall the second he moved into his apartment. "It was right there."

"It's complicated."

"Everything is complicated with you, Aria." An accusation, not a statement. "So tell me, where did you find this?"

"I can't tell you."

"You can't tell me."

Aria shook her head.

"You can't tell me where you happened upon my personal property?"

She shook her head again, but this time she reached her hand out to touch his. He pulled his own away from her. "Ezra, please." Aria had only seen Ezra this angry before when she left his phone at his apartment and got a text from A. The memory sent shivers down her spine. Did Ezra remember what she told him about A? "A." She said only that.

"A." For a second, it didn't look as though any recognition was fluttering through Ezra's brain. Finally, though, his eyes lit up. "A, your stalker. The person who isn't your friend."

"She," Aria stopped. "He," another stop. "It took your degree. I got a picture, here," she thrust her phone into his hand so Ezra could see the picture of his apartment. "The key under the placemat is gone. My parents and the girls parents made us go see this shrink and when we were about to tell her about A Spencer saw the degree. She stopped us all before we could say anything. It was a warning, to me, saying that if I told it would tell about us." Aria was hoping he would glaze over the fact that Spencer knew Ezra's degree was a danger to them, but he didn't. His eyes blazed.

"Spencer _knows?_" he hissed.

"And Hanna and Emily," Aria admitted, moving away from Ezra. "I swear they're not going to tell. Hanna found out. I didn't tell her at all. She, well, that night she got hit by the car. We thought A was following us at Mona's party. Hanna was surveying around the woods when we pulled up in your car."

"She was the one who wrote the message?"

"No, that was Noel Kahn. Hanna just saw us."

"Saw us what? Kissing?"

"Yes," Aria said awkwardly. "Later in the hospital, she almost brought it up but stopped herself because she was in front of the other girls. It was too late though because Spencer and Emily knew that there had been a car there. They needed to know who it was."

"Your friends know." he groaned, smothering his face with his own hand.

"It's fine." Ezra didn't look convinced. "I swear. They would never tell anyone."

"But this A,"

Aria sucked in a breath. It was so strange hearing A's name slip from another lips; especially Ezra's.

"She could tell." admitted Aria. "I don't know if A has any concrete proof though."

"All it takes is for someone to suggest there is a relationship and the school does a full blown investigation,"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Aria could feel the tears breaking through now. "I'm so sorry." The tears seemed to break through Ezra as well. It took him only a second to wrap his arms around her tiny body, letting her tears soak through his thin t-shirt. They stayed there for a moment. Aria didn't ever want to let go. In his arms, she felt safe. A couldn't touch her here. Ezra kissed the top of her head and guided the two of them to the couch where they laid down. She twisted into his arms so her head was resting right next to his. Her eyes closed and Aria breathed in his scent; fresh, like laundry linen. She kissed his cheek and then his nose, letting her memory serve as her eyes, and found his lips where she left a soft kiss. Aria uncoiled her arm from his waist and brushed through his hair with her fingers. His arms only held her tighter, as if he knew letting go meant letting go forever. He linked his leg with hers and began kissing her neck, soft and gentle.

"Ezra," Aria moaned. It only moved Ezra faster. He took one hand now and began running it up and down her side. Positioning himself on top of her, she centered herself in the middle of the couch so he could straddle her waist. "Ez-" she couldn't finish his name as his lips crashed onto hers. The spot on her neck where he had left moments before tingled. Aria's hands lifted his shirt to feel his toned stomach, something she had been wanting to do so badly the night she came. Her fingers trickled down to his belt. The feeling of it being unbuckled unearthed Ezra from some far away planet. He snapped her hands away.

"No," he was out of breath. "Not until you're 18. Not until I'm not your teacher."

"Ezra," Aria protested. "I love you."

"I'm your teacher," said Ezra. "I'm still your teacher. When you're not my student," Ezra rolled off her and stood. "Want something to eat?"

"Yeah," Aria grumbled, only loud enough for herself to hear. "You."

* * *

><p>Emily didn't pull up to the library like she was supposed to. It was a risk to drive into the neighborhood, with Ella Montgomery not so far away, but Emily drove straight past her old house and into Maya St. Germain's driveway. Maya was sitting on the porch, guitar in hand, and didn't look up until Emily shut her car door. A wide smile spread across her face. After Maya had left last night, Emily ventured back upstairs where Aria was still on skype with Spencer and Hanna.<p>

"_Who was at the door?" Aria said innocently. _

"_As if you don't know," A smile crept across Emily's face, causing a blush to rise as well. She could hear Mike's music pounding from his bedroom. "Your brother is a creep."_

"_I know," she shrugged. _

"_So what happened?" yelled Spencer. Aria and Emily both had forgotten that they were there. Spencer looked like she was going to die of not having enough gossip. Hanna had the same strained, 'are you going to effing tell us' look on her face. _

"_We just talked." Emily pulled her hair up into a ponytail. It felt hot in the room, as though she were being interrogated. _

"_Talked...with tongue?" Hanna smirked._

"_Yes, Hanna," retorted Emily. "You do talk with your tongue. Good job on passing elementary anatomy." Even Spencer laughed. "You guys act like there is some juicy secret to be unearthed." She cracked open her textbook, brought out paper, and began to pretend to do homework. "It's not secret. I'm in love with her."_

_Emily didn't see it, but all three girls were grinning madly._

"I was thinking," Emily said coyly as she squeezed next to Maya on the small porch bench. "-maybe we could go on a date tomorrow?"

"A date?"

"A date."

"I'll have to check my calender," Maya said, her eyes glancing down at Emily's lips between every word. "Make sure I don't have a date with my other girlfriends."

"It's hard being with someone so popular," joked Emily, feigning sadness.

"I'm only joking," Maya gave Emily a quick kiss. "You're the only girl for me." Another kiss. "In," kiss. "the," kiss. "whole" kiss. "wide" kiss. "city of Rosewood." They both busted out laughing and Emily playfully slapped Maya's arm.

"You're so stupid,"

"Yeah." shrugged Maya, still smiling.

"So tomorrow," Emily was smiling too.

"Tomorrow." Maya's voice was just above a whisper now. "Want a snack?"

"Sure." The two went into Maya's house. Emily had only been here a couple times and every time there seemed to be something that had been moved or bought. It was a constantly evolving household, so much unlike her own. "I love your house. I don't think I've ever told you that."

"Thanks," Maya said as she led Emily into the kitchen. It was about the size of her own but the walls were a bright cherry red and the counters were shining white marble. All the appliances were black or silver. It seemed so shiny. "Apple?" she held up an apple that was the same color of the wall behind Maya.

"And peanut butter,"

"Coming up," Maya was shorter than Emily but taller than Aria. The cupboards in her kitchen though were just out of her reach. She strained her arm to the top shelf of the cupboard where the peanut butter was stationed just a little bit towards the back. Emily got up to help, but paused. Maya's shirt rode up just a bit, exposing the smooth skin of her back and waist. Swallowing her lust, Emily gently moved Maya out of the way and latched onto the jar of peanut butter.

"Here," It came out more of a croak than her normal voice. Maya seemed to not notice. She thanked Emily and went to the drawer to pull out knives. They settled themselves on barstools in the kitchen as Maya sliced pieces of apple. Emily snuck a piece out right from under Maya and plopped it in her mouth. "I love apples."

"Me," Maya picked up a piece and was about to put it in her mouth. Emily grabbed her hand and lowered Maya's. She picked up another apple piece and put it carefully to Maya's lips. "-too." said Maya, after she had chewed and swallowed. Emily smoothed a lump of peanut butter onto another apple piece and held it up to Maya. Her tongue poked out from her lips and, instead of licking the apple, licked the dab of peanut butter that had found its way to Emily's hand. The apple dropped from Emily's hand. The action took her by such surprise that she couldn't even stop the quit moan that clawed its way out from the back of her throat.

Maya didn't take her time climbing over to Emily's lap. They were sharing a barstool now. Emily wobbled unsafely, gathering her balance so her and Maya didn't topple over on the white tiled floor. Maya's tongue had already separated Emily's lips and was investigating every corner of Emily's mouth. She seemed to slow down, though, remembering the night before. Emily wasn't having any of that. Swimming gave her muscles most girls didn't have. Maya's legs were already wrapped tightly around Emily's waist, so as Emily lifted, she managed to carry her to the couch. They fell back on it, Maya's legs never break from Emily's waist.

Emily knew it was up to her to start what she wanted to start. Maya would never again touch her the way she did the night Emily left. It was up to Emily. Her hand, skin the color of cinnamon, slipped under Maya's shirt all the way up to the lining in her bra. Emily's finger traced around it and she could feel goosebumps erupting on Maya's skin. Still under Maya's shirt, Emily let her hand touch every inch of skin she could find. Finally she did what she wanted to do from the very beginning; Emily slid the shirt right off of Maya, only breaking their kiss for a second.

_She's beautiful, _Emily thought. She kissed down Maya's neck to the top of her bra and then back up where she rested at Maya's neck. Emily could hear the rumble in Maya's throat; she was doing the right thing. Maya's hands were wandering now and soon Emily's shirt had been discarded right next to Maya's on the floor. Both clad only in their bras and jeans, they brought their attention back to each other. Just as Maya's fingers were unbuttoning the top button of Emily's jeans, Emily's phone jingled from the kitchen.

"Ignore it," Maya groaned as she sucked on Emily's pulse point. Emily, shaking with anticipation of what they could be doing soon, struggled under Maya's weight.

"It could be Aria," she muttered.

"I don't care," Emily's pants were unbuttoned now and Maya's hand was slipping down the front. Emily let out a tiny squeak as Maya brushed against the most sensitive part of her body. Grinning, Maya brought her hands back up to Emily's chest. One slipped behind her and unclasped Emily's bra, but Emily caught it before it could fall off.

"I'm sorry," she said, struggling to button her jeans and her bra back up. "If it's Aria, we have to get home. We're in enough trouble as it is." Panting, Maya looked at Emily indignantly.

"Are we at least on for our date tomorrow?"

"Definitely," Emily insisted, checking her phone. Yup, it was Aria. She pulled on her shirt and looked back at Maya. She hadn't bothered to put her shirt back on. She was still sitting on the couch breathing heavily and looking far too sexy for Emily's own good. Emily could feel the burning in her stomach only grow larger as she took a few steps to Maya so she could say goodbye. Something came over Emily, and instead of just pecking her on the cheek, Emily slid down on Maya's lap and grinded against her. Maya, both surprised and pleased, let out a quiet moan into Emily's ear.

"See you tomorrow," Emily whispered, leaving a lingering kiss on Maya's lips.

**Review and tell me what you want to see happen.**


	4. I Love You

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER IS RATED M FOR MATURE CONTENT. WHILE THE REST OF THIS STORY IS ACCEPTABLE FOR TEEN, THIS CHAPTER IS NOT. **

**I've never written anything like this before so cut me some slack, haha But you guys kept asking.**

**Review please.**

"Talk with Fitz go okay?" Emily asked as Aria got in the car. She had the AC on full blast the entire drive over to Ezra's apartment. At last she had cooled down.

"Yeah." awkwardly, Aria nodded. "Studying go okay?"

"Mhm," lied Emily.

The girls didn't talk the entire drive home.

* * *

><p>Emily and Aria stampeded up the stairs when they got home. They didn't even leave enough time for Ella to say hello. Dropping their bags on the floor, each went to their respective corners and opened their laptops. Maya, just like Emily expected, was logged on facebook chat. Casually, she looked over to Aria.<p>

"So," drawled Emily. "You think your mom would be alright with me going on a date tomorrow?" Her eyes glanced back down at Maya's name with the little green circle next to it. Aria grinned and stretched her body across the floor so she was closer to Emily.

"Maya?"

"No, Fitz." Emily rolled her eyes. "Of course Maya."

"I don't see why not. Just ask." Ella was walking past the door with a basket of laundry. Emily launched herself up off the floor and out of Aria's bedroom. She found Ella in Mike's room folding his underwear in his drawers. Almost laughing, she cleared her throat. Ella smiled and put down the basket, giving her full attention to Emily.

"What's up?"

"I was wondering," she bit her lip. "Could I go out tomorrow night? To a movie. With Maya."

"Sure," Emily's mouth dropped. She didn't know if she was expecting a no or if she was just so surprised by such a quick answer. Had this been her own mother, there would have been every excuse in the book made to keep Emily at home and away from a girl. "As long as you're home by ten. It's a school night,"

"Thank you." Emily turned to leave, but Ella's voice startled her backwards.

"Emily?"

"Yeah?"

"If you like her, we have no problem with it." That's all it took for Emily to go and hug Mrs. Montgomery.

* * *

><p>Emily stood in front of Aria's full length mirror longer than she ever had before. She had tried on every item of clothing in both of their closets. Aria had played with her hair until it was in soft waves, and though she liked it, she still couldn't find the right outfit. Finally she settled on an old band t-shirt Aria bought in Europe, a faded jean jacket and a short, yellow flowing skirt that went well with her cinnamon colored skin.<p>

"Can I borrow this?" Emily pointed at a pair of Aria's strappy black heels.

"Going for a dressy-casual look?" she said nonchalantly, nodding at Emily to take the shoes. Emily slipped them on and nodded as well.

"It's just a movie," she replied. "But I want to look...like something more than I normally do."

"You're beautiful."

Grinning, Emily muttered a thanks and began digging through her boxes of things for a different purse. Aria tossed her a simple black one of hers and Emily caught it looped around her arm. Sending yet another thanks to her friend, she glanced at herself one more time in the mirror. Emily wasn't one for wearing a skirt all too often, but even she had to admit that years of swimming had toned her leg muscles just the way she wanted them.

Maya had found Emily at school before they went their separate ways, asking for her to stop at her house before they left for the movie. It unnerved Emily. She was hoping to be able to pull up, let Emily get in the car, and then drive to the movie where they would sit in the dark for two hours and not be able to talk. Their encounter the other day left her shaken. Emily knew exactly what she wanted to do with Maya, but she wasn't sure if she was ready for it. With a quick one armed hug to Aria, Emily left down the stairs and out the door to her car.

The drive to Maya's seemed longer than usual. When she pulled in the drive and got out of her car, it took her an extra ten steps to make it to the front door. Emily wasn't even this nervous on their first date. She didn't have to ring the doorbell. Maya was already opening the door.

Emily couldn't believe how stunning she looked. Like usual, she wore a pair of tight skinny jeans that hugged every curve of her delicate body. But even though Emily saw her wearing these jeans probably a hundred times before, something made them look even better than usual. Her shoulders were bare; a light, flowy tank top hung from her torso. It was the same color as Emily's skirt but had tiny white flowers around the trim under Maya's chest. Besides the dress Maya wore to meet Emily's parents for dinner, this was probably the girliest thing Emily had ever seen her wear.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Emily couldn't remember who said hi first. She stepped inside the house when Maya let her.

"We should probably get going soon," said Emily. "The movie starts in a half hour."

"Actually..." Maya grinned and took Emily's hand. She led her to a door that Emily recognized from the many times her and Ali had escaped down into the depths of her basement. It was the only thing Emily recognized from when Ali lived here. The St. Germain's had changed so much. It looked dark but Emily noticed a flicker of lighting coming from somewhere down the steps. Maya led her forward, a playful grin stretching across her lips, and when they reached the landing Emily's heart sunk.

Candles. Hundreds of them.

"Oh my god, you're leaving." She flashed back to when the girls had snuck Maya to Spencer's so they could say goodbye.

"No!" Maya seemed to recall the memory as well and immediately took both Emily's hands. "No, crap, maybe I didn't think this through." Emily looked around the room. Just like every other room the house, it was much different from when Ali had lived here. There was a large purple sofa in the middle of the room facing a wall that had been converted into a television screen. A projector rested behind the couch pointing at the TV and the title screen of a movie was flicking against the wall. Candles were placed sporadically around the room. Some were on tables while others rested on the floor away from anything that could catch on fire. Emily could smell lavender and lilies, her favorite, and a giant bowl of popcorn was seated on the couch.

Emily turned to look at Maya.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," she laughed. "My parents are movie buffs. They set up this projector so we could watch movies down here. I did some decorating... do you like it?" The way she asked sent chills up Emily's arms leaving little bumps in its wake. Her voice had a twinge of innocent but behind it, something else.

"I do." Emily said quietly. "I thought I was taking _you _on the date."

"Well, you were. But then I remembered that you took me out on our last, and only, date. It's my turn."

"This is sweet,"

"So," Maya pulled Emily towards the couch and propped her feet on the coffee table. Emily joined her, watching Maya as she pressed play on the remote. Her head snuggled into Maya's neck and the two settled into the couch.

At some point, Emily dozed off. Days of doing nothing but homework and worrying about A didn't leave much time for sleep. When she finally woke, Maya was watching her. Blushing, she stretched out her arms and apologized.

"No need," Smiling, Maya rested her own head against Emily's. "I fell asleep too. I just woke up before you."

"What time is it?" Panicking, Emily grabbed her phone. Maya pushed her phone away.

"Relax. It's only eight."

"I have to be home by eleven."

"We could watch another movie," Maya suggested. She stood up and began digging through the cabinet at the far end of the basement. At one point, a liquor cabinet, one that Alison, Spencer, Hanna, Aria and Emily had broken into one too many times, sat there. Next to it had been an giant speaker system that the girls had cranked as loud as it would allow. In its place now was an old record player that Maya explained was bought by her dad at an estate sale.

"He's an antique junky," she said, tapping the wood. "Even if it doesn't work he buys it."

"I think it's cool." Emily watched as Maya sorted through more cds. "We might want to blow out some of these candles. They're getting down to their last nub of wax." Leaning down, she began circling the room blowing out candles. One by one, the room got a little bit smokier and a little bit smellier. Emily felt Maya's hand clutch her arm and pull her up. The smell of the lavender in the air put Emily in a daze. She fell into Maya's arms, letting the darker girl sway her back and forth. They danced for a few minutes, savoring the time in each others arms, before Emily choked up the nerve to plant a weak kiss on Maya's cheek.

Lavender twisted with their bodies as they danced across the room to the couch. Their kisses were soft and innocent, like a butterflies wings fluttering against a leaf. They nestled on the couch next to each other, breaking kisses only to look in the others eyes.

"Are your parents _ever _home?" muttered Emily as Maya kissed down her collarbone. Stifling a laugh, Maya replied:

"Away on business."

Emily didn't care where they were. She only cared where Maya's lips were going next. Her bulky jacket was getting in the way; Emily slid it off. Even with the jacket tossed on the floor, her skin felt sizzling hot. Her fingers danced up Maya's arm and wrapped a single strand of Maya's hair delicately around her finger. They broke apart again and just stared, both at a loss of words.

Maya was nervous. Emily knew that. Emily had run out twice now, even if the second time wasn't entirely her fault. Letting the brick wall inside of her heart crumble, Emily curled her fingers at the hem of her shirt. She lifted it, slowly and methodically, and shook her hair out when it was finally off. Exposed in her bra, Emily slid backwards and laid down on the couch with Maya hovering at her feet. It was an invitation. It was an 'okay, go ahead, I'm alright'. Maya carefully straddled Emily's hips and laid her body on top of Emily's, not touching skin, but hovering just above.

Emily kissed Maya first. Like the first kiss they shared, it was slow. It was innocent. It was careful. But then Emily parted Maya's lips and slid her tongue in just enough to taste her. Emily felt like with every touch she was asking permission like a little kid; is this okay? What about this? Her hand slid up to Maya's neck and she tickled the back of it. Maya giggled into the kiss. But Emily was done instigating anything. She wanted Maya to trust that Emily wasn't running out this time.

So Emily pulled away. Maya, confused, stared into her girlfriends eyes. Emily knew what she was thinking; she thought Emily was running again. But Emily laid there underneath Maya waiting for Maya to kiss her. It was taking longer than Emily thought, or maybe it was her serious urge to want to feel Maya's lips against hers again. Tentatively, Maya leaned down and kissed Emily. Emily fell into her kiss but not enough to take control. She could feel Maya's shirt rubbing against the smooth skin of her own stomach. She wanted to feel how she felt the other day as their stomachs laid against each other. Emily brought her hand to Maya's shirt and tugged but Maya smacked her hand away.

"Not yet," she muttered into Emily's lips. She came down and kissed the top of Emily's chest that was spilling from her bra. With one hand snaking around to unclasp and the other ready to catch it falling, Emily found her breathing quicker. Her heart was beating fast and when she was finally exposed she seemed to stop breathing entirely. Maya did too. "You," she kissed Emily's breasts tenderly, each one, and then lifted her head back up to look Emily in the eye. "You are beautiful." Emily didn't say anything. She kissed Maya's cheek and pulled her down on her body so they were crashing together. Emily kissed her hard and fast, but Maya slowed her down. "You're okay?"

"Wonderful,"

"I-I love you, Emily."

"I love you, Maya."

Effortlessly, Emily tugged Maya's tank top off. Unsurprisingly she was already not wearing a bra. Emily let her fingers roam Maya's body, caress every curve and natural marking. Her lips trailed kisses down her neck to her shoulders and Emily kissed as far down Maya's arms as possible. She brought her mouth back up to Maya's but not before leaving trails of kisses across her stomach. An exhilarating feeling was pumping through Emily's veins. Not A, not her mother, not anyone could ruin this moment for her.

Maya was in control now. Her hands slid down Emily's bare stomach to the waist line of her skirt. On a subconscious level, this was exactly why Emily wore a skirt. There were no buttons to fumble with this time. A single finger curled around the elastic band of Emily's skirt and pulled. It didn't come down as easy as either girl would have liked. At the end of the couch, Emily's feet kicked off the fabric chaining her feet. It landed with a soft plop across the room. Kissing down from Emily's belly button, she stopped at the height of her panties. With a devilish look that made Emily's heart race, Maya took the fabric in her mouth and tugged slowly, pulling until she was at Emily's ankles with her panties still in her mouth. She let them drop to the floor beside the couch and then climbed back up, careful to let her breasts touch every inch of exposed leg. "M-maya," Emily stuttered. Maya placed a single finger to Emily's swollen lips. She kissed down Emily's body, her tongue twirling and twisting against the hard points of Emily's nipples, all while pinning Emily's shaking arms above her head. Her tongue continued to work its way down to Emily's center, but as Emily squirmed, Maya brought herself back up to her girlfriends mouth. Emily had never been so aroused before.

Maya was dangerously sexy.

"This is what you want,"

"_Stop making sure I'm alright,_" Emily hissed with a twinge of impatience. "I want this." Maya's fingers were already sliding into Emily's moist center before she could finish her sentence. She let out a startled cry, and Maya stopped for a moment, but Emily thrusting gave Maya the encouragement to go forward. It was the most brilliant feeling Emily had ever felt in her life; she had touched herself before, but nothing like this. This was exhilarating. This was love, she thought. Maya was kissing her mouth while her fingers moved inside of Emily, her thumb rubbing Emily's clit in circles. She could feel her entire body shaking. Emily took Maya's nipple into her own mouth and sucked, letting her tongue dance. She bit lightly as Maya inserted a third finger, and Maya cried out in a mix of joyful pain. Emily threw her head backwards, reveling in the feeling of Maya pleasuring her. She could feel the sweat dripping down her face.

As Maya pulled her fingers out, Emily squirmed in protest, but she felt the cool lick of Maya's tongue on her clit and that shut her up. It was sending her over the edge. As Maya's tongue worked its way around Emily's folds, she rain her hands through Maya's hair, pulling and tugging with every new feeling she felt. Maya reinserted her fingers and Emily bucked impatiently, wanting to feel the final blow of an orgasm. The two moved in such a motion it could have been that they were dancing; it was delicate, loving and graceful. Emily reached her climax and tore her nails into Maya's back, clenching her toes and pouring all her emotion into a kiss. Breathless and hot, the two fell into a happy silence.

Emily couldn't let it end there. She flipped Maya over and looked her straight in the eye as she unbuttoned Maya's jeans. There was no protesting when the jeans were yanked from her body or when Emily tugged at Maya's underwear with such determination. Emily wanted Maya to feel everything that she just felt and then some.

"I love you," Emily whispered.

"And I love you," Maya replied.

**Okay... I feel uncomfortable after writing all that haha I've never written anything like this before. Well, tell me in reviews what you think I guess.**


	5. Invisible

The drive back to Aria's was painful. Though her heart was still numb with shock at what just happened, it ached to stay with Maya at her house. They laid there afterwards, Maya's fingers twirling Emily's no longer wavy hair, basking in the silence of their love making. Emily was racing against the clock to get back to Aria's on time. She pulled in the driveway just as her radio hit ten.

With the house key that the Montgomery's gave her, she let herself inside. Aria was sitting on the loveseat with a container of cold chinese from last night in one hand and a book in the other. Emily's smile didn't hide a thing; Aria patted the seat next to her on the couch with an eager grin, ready to hear all the details of her best friends night. But Emily shook her head and motioned upstairs wanting the most privacy the house could offer. The girls, clutching hands and giggling like school children all the way up, collapsed on Aria's bed when they reached it and huddled together.

"_So," _Aria dragged out the 'o'. "Tell me! Does she have a cute butt?"

"Aria!"

"Sorry," she laughed. "Trying to lighten the mood,"

"The mood is light enough," grinned Emily. "It was amazing. It really was."

"Did you guys..."

"Yes."

"Holy crap, Em!"

"I know." So Emily began describing the night as plainly as possible. Aria ooo'ed at the candles and how Maya changed the date. Even Emily, hours later, felt herself giddy with surprise that they never went to the movie that they were supposed to. She skirted over the finer details of the night, but ended with them laying in each others arms. Aria sighed and fell backwards, dramatically fanning her face.

"If only I could have your love life,"

"You have hotty Mr. Fitz," Emily reached over and grabbed the chinese container Aria had brought back upstairs. "How can you complain about your love life? I may be gay, but I know that that is one fine piece of guy." Aria blushed.

"I'm not complaining, I'm just..." she let out a frustrated groan and sat back up. "He doesn't want to do _anything._"

"Do you kiss?"

"Of course we kiss," said Aria. "But nothing else. Nothing more. _Nothing._"

"Did he give a reason?"

"I'm his student."

"Well..." Emily took another bite. "You _are _his student." Aria snatched the chinese from her hands and poked at it with the chopsticks.

"I know that. But I'm not going to be for long," Emily's phone dinged from across the room. Unfolding her legs, she stood and walked to where she had dropped her purse when her and Aria flew in. "Mm, that's probably Spence." said Aria, swallowing quickly. "We skyped earlier and I told her you had a hot date tonight." Aria wiggled her eyebrows to make Emily laugh. She did, but stopped as she got to her phone. The message was restricted. "What?" Aria's stomach plummeted. Like Emily, she unfolded herself from the sheets and went to where Emily stood.

_Why not show Aria what a real relationship looks like? Open the attachment -A_

"I-I can't open that." Emily said, her hands shaking.

"Here," Aria took the phone and accepted the media text. She dropped it as soon as the video started playing. From the ground, you could hear the faint noise of love making. Aria and Emily heard Emily's voice, her groans, and when Aria bent down to turn it off she could see Emily's face and the side of Maya's.

Emily's entire body began convulsing in waves of horror. A was there. A _recorded _her and Maya having sex.

"Emily," Aria didn't know what to say. Tears fell from her own eyes as tears fell from Emily's. She pulled Emily into her, letting Emily cry on her shoulder, and they both fell onto the window seat. "That bitch." she muttered, rubbing Emily's back soothingly.

"What am I supposed to do?" cried Emily. "That's _me. _That's _personal. _A could send that to my mom. Oh my god, my mom. Do you realize what my mom would do to me if she saw that?" Aria was sure that it would be somewhere between a gay camp and disownment. "How did A even record us? We were in a basement."

"I didn't watch it," said Aria quickly. "But from the looks of it when I bent down to pick the phone up, it looked like A was at one of those little windows in the basement, you know? And Ali had broken one of the windows a few years ago, remember? If Maya's parents didn't fix it, it would be the perfect width to stick an arm in and record something." That idea of how it happened wasn't as comforting to Emily as she thought it would be.

"When we saw those videos Ian took of us," Emily sniffled and rubbed her eyes. "I was mortified. I thought I would never be able to be as mortified as that. We were exposed. We were prancing around our rooms naked in most of those. It was one thing with each other, but for someone to _record _us...I never thought I would get over it. But this tops it. This is _worse_. I feel like dying."

"Does this mean Ian is A?" Aria asked. "And that he is still alive? He's the one that took the videos. We know he's 'good with a camera'."

"Could be," Emily pulled her legs up and hugged them to her chest. She felt dirty. "Or..." It was what Emily and Aria had been skirting around for days. They hadn't wanted to bring it up to Spencer and it's not as though they've had much of a chance. Every time they talked about Ian, Melissa's name was right under their tongues. Melissa had always been so sure of Ian's innocence, but maybe it wasn't that she thought Ian was innocent, it was that Ian was guilty and Melissa was too.

"We're going to deal with this in the morning, okay? Let's go to bed. You need to sleep." Emily didn't object. Her entire body felt like it was falling apart. She didn't even have the energy to pull herself from the window seat. Aria took her hand and pulled her up, helping her pull her shirt off and replacing it with one to sleep in. She did the same with Emily's skirt and helped her tug on some pajama bottoms. Pulling back the covers, Aria guided Emily to the bed and Emily fell backwards in exhaustion. Closing her eyes seemed like a chore. She barely felt the bed tip with Aria's weight, or Aria sliding the covers over the both of them. A few silent tears slipped down Emily's cheeks. Under the blanket, Aria grabbed Emily's hand and squeezed.

* * *

><p>Hanna kicked the door to one of the stalls in the girls bathroom. All four girls were alone. They had locked the door to make sure they weren't interrupted. It was lunch time and they carefully snuck out of the cafeteria one by one when Ella wasn't looking at them.<p>

"That bitch!" Hanna screeched. Emily and Aria had just filled Spencer and Hanna in on what happened last night. Emily wasn't nearly as put together as she normally was; her hair was pulled back into a messy bun and she was wearing sweat pants and an old Rosewood High t-shirt that she had gotten with the purchase of a homecoming ticket. She sank to the floor, Hanna's angry outcries not doing any good, and shoved her head between her knees. Breathing was becoming more difficult these days. She felt a hand on her shoulder but she didn't bother looking up to check who it was. It didn't matter.

"Since when did A sink down to Ian's level?" Spencer said. It was a rhetorical question. No one had an answer, anyway. Aria just shook her head and fell to the floor with Emily, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Maybe Ian is A,"

"How could Ian be A?" said Hanna "A pushed Ian, right Spence?"

"Someone did," None of them knew what was worse. A being the one who pushed Ian and being the one who recorded Emily, or there being someone else just as conniving, devious and threatening as A who knew exactly the type of messages A sent.

"If not A," Aria said, looking up at Hanna and Spencer. "Who?"

"Melissa." Aria, Hanna and even Emily all looked up at Spencer. She didn't look mad or surprised that it came out of her mouth. Spencer looked calm above all. "Guys, don't look at me like that. I know she's my sister but let's face it, it's not like we get along all that well."

"So you think she tried to murder you?"

"No," Spencer shook her head. "Ian tried to murder me. Melissa saved me."

"You're overlooking one little detail," Aria stood up. "Melissa was in the hospital, remember? There is no way she could leave the hospital, get to the church, push Ian and get back to the hospital without anyone knowing and _still _manage to maintain a very freaked out and worried wife act. Melissa can be a bitch but I can't see her doing this."

"Doesn't mean she isn't involved with Ian in that way,"

"Do you want it to be her, Spencer?"

"Of course not!" she sighed and leaned up against the sink. "We've been kind of good lately. Or at least we were until Ian showed back up. I don't want to believe she could be involved with him but we can't take away the possibility. He sent her that text because he trusts her for whatever reason. If he thought, even for a second, that Melissa would believe me why would he contact her at all? He wouldn't. He would stay dead."

"The million dollar question is...how is he alive?" Hanna said it but everyone else was thinking it.

"No," Emily shook her head and stood up, dusting off her sweat pants. "The million dollar question is who the hell is A and is she on our side or not?"

"She helps us, she hurts us." Hanna muttered. Aria stuck out both of her hands palms up. She nodded at Emily who let her hand fall into Aria's. Spencer grabbed the other one. Emily let her free hand grasp Hanna's and Spencer gave hers as well.

"I don't care if our parents separate us," she whispered. "Or if A tries tearing us down. She could spill all our secrets right now," Aria's hands squeezed Emily's tight. "But we need to stay on each others sides. We can't turn away from each other."

They were the truest words any of the girls had ever heard Aria say. Together they were stronger than they were separate. From the floor, Emily's bag began to vibrate. They all looked at each other; who else could it be? They were all here. Emily shook her head. She couldn't look. Spencer reached down instead and dug through Emily's bag until she pulled out the phone.

"If you want the video to be kept private," Spencer read. Her voice broke off at the next sentence though and instead she passed the phone to Hanna. Hanna, not able to form the words, passed it to Aria. Emily was looking at them all expectantly, waiting for one of them to break the bad news. Aria, stuttering, her hands shaking, looked at Emily and shook her head. Emily snatched the phone from Aria's hand and read it.

_If you want the video to be kept private, publicly break up with Maya. -A_

Emily twirled around, pushed the stall door and retched her half-eaten lunch into the toilet.

Hanna held back Emily's hair as she dry-heaved. The stall was too small for any of the other girls to come in, so she was also rubbing her back gently. Aria and Spencer were both leaning against he frames of other stalls looking at Emily's phone on the ground with such anger. Emily finally pushed herself up off her knees, crawled to where the phone was on the ground, and threw it so hard against the wall that it shattered into five broken pieces. She was crying now and her whole body was shaking. Not even when Ali go missing did Emily break down this hard. The three other girls all looked at the tiny ball curled on the floor that was Emily. Someone tried opening the bathroom door, but since it was locked, all it did was wiggle and groan in protest. Aria and Spencer bent down, looped their arms through Emily's and pulled her up into a standing position. Lunch was almost over and people were going to be filling the bathrooms soon to steal time away from class.

"Em," Aria whispered, rubbing her arm up and down. "Em, let's go home. Come on," Guiding Emily from the bathroom, the three girls provided a human shield from her. The hallways were already spilling with students. Emily, half supported by both Aria and Spencer, still cried. She didn't care who saw at that point. Aria's stomach plummeted when she saw Maya standing at the end of the hallway. She saw Emily and pushed through the crowds of people standing in front of lockers.

"What happened to her?" she shouted, her eyes bouncing from Hanna to Spencer to Aria. "Hey, Emily. Emily look at me."

"Go away." Her voice was barely above a whisper and it came out low and gravely from all the tears that had fallen already. Maya, taken back already by Emily's appearance and now her demand, tried taking Emily's hand. Emily ripped it away and backed up into Hanna. "Go away." It was louder this time. People were beginning to look.

"What?"

"I can't date you anymore,"

"Emily-"

"Go."

"Em-"

"Go!" It was high pitched and forced. Everything inside of Emily was breaking. She could feel great waves of breath being sucked from her stomach. She needed air. She needed oxygen. It only took a second to break away from Aria and Spencer. Emily was running and out the door before either of them knew what had happened. At the end of the hallway, Ella was staring. She looked at her daughter and at Hanna and Spencer. Aria didn't care that her mom saw them together. Sending an apologetic look at Maya, she tore after Emily out the door with Hanna and Spencer in toe.

None of them looked back to see Maya, confused with tears already staining her cheeks, fold herself against the lockers and try her best to become invisible.

**Sorry. lol I had to do it. Review?**


	6. Bus

"Are you happy now?" screamed Emily. Aria, Spencer and Hanna had finally caught up with her. She was in the middle of the parking lot near Aria's car, her arms thrown out, her head whisking around and looking all around her. The skies seemed to match her mood; dark clouds were rolling in and thunder rumbled from a few miles away. Hanna got to Emily first. She tried pulling Emily into her arms but Emily only pushed away. "Come on A," Emily screamed again. "Why not just show yourself? If you're so keen on ruining our lives, show yourself!"

"Em, stop it. Stop it." It was the most out of character any of them had ever seen Emily. Her eyes were wild, her hair had fallen from its bun, and her breathing was rapid. She seemed to collapse against the weight of her world into Hanna's arms, sucking in deep breaths of air. No tears seemed to be coming from her eyes though; no, Emily Fields was empty. She had nothing left to cry.

Ella found them in the parking lot. Her eyes went to Emily who, too tired to even stand, was wrapped in Hanna's arms. Aria stepped forward next and tucked herself into the hug as well. Spencer moved forward after that. They hugged, the four forbidden girls, and together they stood together in unity. Ella watched as one by one, Hanna, Spencer and Aria left one small kiss on Emily's cheek and held her into Aria's car. When the door was shut, they turned to face Mrs. Montgomery.

"We know," Aria said blandly.

"We're sorry." Spencer spoke. "But she needed us."

"What happened back there?" she asked, peering into the car. Emily's eyes were shut and her head was leaned back against the cushy head rest. "Is she alright?"

"I'm taking her home, so you should go sign us out. You can yell at us all later."

"I can't yell at you for that," Ella placed her hand on her daughters shoulder. "That was friendship at its finest. If I could, I would sign you all out. Hanna, Spencer, if it's okay with your parents you're more than welcome to come over tonight. Get Emily home," With one more quick glance into the car, just to make sure Emily was still there, Ella walked back into the school. Aria turned to Hanna and Spencer and gave them each a long hug.

"Tonight?"

"If we're allowed," Hanna and Spencer walked back up to the school leaving Aria standing in the parking lot with her keys.

_Yeah A, _she thought. _Show yourself, you coward. _

* * *

><p>Emily was a zombie. She couldn't feel, talk, walk or breathe. Upstairs, she laid in Aria's bed, her eyes shut as tight as she could make them. She didn't know if she was trying to close out the days events or she was just hoping that when she opened her eyes the day would start over, but whatever the reason, Emily didn't want to open her eyes. She couldn't.<p>

Aria left Emily alone while she drove to the Sprint store. She knew Emily couldn't be without a phone – not only because A could get mad, but because Emily's mom would worry if she couldn't get in touch with her daughter. Before they had left the bathroom Aria scooped up the pieces of Emily's phone. She wasn't sure if anyone could fix it, but Aria would buy a new one if she had to. After fighting with a Sprint store manager for a few minutes, Aria walked back out with a newly programmed phone for Emily. It wasn't the same kind as she had before, but Aria did that on purpose. Emily wouldn't want a phone like she had. It would be too painful of a reminder.

Hanna was already in her driveway by the time Aria got home. She had stopped for food, hoping Emily would eat, and it took longer than she thought. Hanna helped carry in the giant bags of Thai food and set them up on the counter. Figuring Emily wanted time alone, the two picked out some food and ate at the stools in Aria's kitchen.

"I just don't get why A's doing this," Aria said seriously.

"I do." Hanna popped open a container. "She made me break Lucas' heart. It makes sense. A loves drama and apparently is a bitter old cow who doesn't want anyone to be happy."

"But what I don't get is why Emily and Maya?"

"What do you mean?"

"Emily is already out. Everyone knows she's gay. So there isn't any story there. She already dated Maya, too. So again, there isn't anything big to shock the school with. But look at me and Spencer and our relationships. I'm dating a teacher. If A wanted to get gritty, nitty sexy tapes, why not go after the two who have the most to lose?"

"And Spence? What does she have to lose with her relationship with Toby?"

"Spencer is the key suspect in Alison's murder and that used to be Toby. Now they're dating. Some people may know, but it's not as if they can go bouncing around town anymore with Spencer's parents watching her every move. If A had got something of them and released it, Spencer would have lost every ounce of credibility she had with anyone in this town. Toby may be free and innocent but not in the eyes of Rosewood."

"A is ripping Emily down," said Emily. "Maybe she's more emotionally invested in Maya than you or Spencer are in Fitz or Toby. I'm not saying you don't love Fitz, but you said yourself that Emily has been acting different since Maya came back."

"Almost dependent on her,"

"Well Maya is the reason she stayed."

"Maya is the reason she got to stay," Aria corrected. "She'd be in Texas if Maya hadn't shown up. She stayed for us too,"

Hanna threw down her fork and put her head in her heads, stared up at Aria, and sighed. Neither of them needed to say anything. They were both sick of having to be detectives. The doorbell chimed through the house and Aria jumped off her stool to go get the door. Hanna, wanting to stretch out her legs anyway, told Aria she would go upstairs to check on Emily.

She took the steps slowly, mostly because she wanted to make sure it was Spencer at the door and not anyone next. When she heard Spencer's voice, it relaxed her a bit, but she still took the steps slow and one at a time. Hanna needed to think. She wanted to help Emily. Hanna couldn't possibly know the pain Emily was going through because when she broke Lucas' heart she loved him as a friend, not the love of her life. It hurt but Hanna had to admit it was different. She couldn't go upstairs and claim to know what Emily was feeling. There was only one thing she could relate to, and that was the sex.

As Hanna pushed open the door, she hesitated. Emily looked like she was asleep. Her entire body was hidden under the mass of blankets Aria kept in her room at all times. She was facing the wall. Edging closer, Hanna sat on the bed and rubbed Emily's arm.

"Hey," she whispered. "You awake? It's Han," Emily was awake. She shuffled under the covers a bit and Hanna knew that somewhere in that head of hers she was trying to figure out if she wanted to roll over and look at Hanna. She did, in the end, which made Hanna feel much better. At least she wasn't hiding her face away from the world.

"Hi." Her voice sounded hoarse. It probably had to do with all the screaming she did earlier and her crying didn't help it. Emily's eyes looked dry, though. She didn't seem to be crying anymore.

"Want some food? Aria brought home thai and Spencer just got here."

"Not hungry," Emily went to roll over again, apparently hoping that the conversation ended there. Hanna grabbed her arm and held her in place.

"We can talk," Hanna said. "Look, I'm not going to pretend to know what you're feeling. I-I don't. You're probably furious and angry and hurt and confused and, and lots of other stuff that us girls feel 90% of the time. But I slept with Caleb," This, Emily knew. There was no look of surprise on her face, only mild curiosity as to where the conversation was leading. "-and then he broke my heart. It's not the same. Our hearts didn't break in the same way. But I know the feeling of giving yourself, all of yourself, to someone and then being shattered. If you want to talk,"

"Thanks, Hanna."

"A is such a little...bug." Emily cocked an eyebrow. "I'm trying not to swear-_bug. _Bug." Wildly, Hanna began looking around the room. She pointed at Emily and began tugging at her arm.

"Wha-"

Hanna shushed her and dragged her down the steps two at a time. Aria and Spencer were in the kitchen poking at the food. Spencer opened her mouth to say hello but Hanna shook her head fiercely, motioning for them to shut up. In a whisper almost too quiet to hear, Hanna spoke to all four of them huddled together.

"Leave your bags," she whispered. "Leave your phones. Let's go."

"Hanna, what-"

"Shut up," Hanna hissed, grabbing Emily's hand and pulling her outside. Aria and Spencer shot each other quizzically looks as Hanna passed her car and continued to walk down the sidewalk. They walked down the street, away from the house, until they reached the main center of Rosewood. School was already out so plenty of kids were roaming the streets with their friends looking around at the shops. Aria, Spencer and Emily didn't dare to speak again. All three were already sick of the shushing and Hanna had a determined look on her face. She veered left and was walking even quicker now, glancing over her shoulder every few minutes. Aria wasn't sure if Hanna was checking to see if they were still with her or if someone was following them. Finally, she stopped in front of the bus station.

"What the hell, Hanna?" Aria snapped, minor irritation laced in her voice. "Why are we here? My mom is going to wonder." Hanna ignored her and instead walked up to the ticket station. She pulled out a ten dollar bill and slid it under the counter money slot.

"What buses leave around the same time, take different routes, and end up at the same place?"

"Er," The man behind the glass scratched his head and looked at the charts. "Well, we got three buses leaving in about four minutes and they all stop in a little city about 15 miles from'ere. S'called, uh, hold on," he bent over the page again, focusing his eye glasses. "Elmhold. Then we got a bus leavin' in about six minutes that is a one stop to Elmhold."

"When will each of the busses get there?"

"Well some got some other stops, you know," he was starting to get annoyed now. "Bus one will get there around 4:40, bus two about ten minutes after that. Bus three will get there somewhere in between and bus four, the one that is a one stop, will probably get there around 4:30."

"Okay," Hanna said, poking the money again. "I need a ticket for each of those buses." His eyes narrowed at Aria, Spencer and Emily behind her.

"Why not just go on one bus?"

"Am I paying for advice?" Hanna snapped. Without taking his eye off of Hanna, the cash register dinged open and he counted out her change. With the tickets on top of the bills, he slid it back under slowly just to annoy Hanna. When the tickets were finally in her hand, she passed one out to each girl. Hanna took the ticket for the bus that arrived the latest. "Get on your bus and get off at the Elmhold stop."

"My god Hanna, did you forget to take your prozac today? What are we doing?"

"I'll explain when we get there. Go! You're going to miss your buses." With one last fleeting look at Hanna, Aria, Spencer and Emily walked off in search of their buses. With a few extra minutes to kill, Hanna walked down to the small convenience store and purchased one disposable phone. Hanna slipped it in her pocket and boarded her bus just in time.

**Review? **


	7. A

Elmhold wasn't anything like Hanna was hoping it would be. Not that she had too many expectations; she just was hoping it would be a little more crowded and a little less shady. The bus station they got off at was sketchy, to say the least. Paint was peeling off the walls and most of the lights were flickering. Windows were thrown open, but at some point during the ride the rain had started so the concrete floor was damp. Streams of water trickled down into the middle of the room where there was a drain. An older woman, hair flying in all sorts of places, waited behind the ticket booth but she was asleep. Whistling snores echoed off of the walls.

Emily, Aria and Spencer were already there when Hanna got off. None of them looked all that happy to be there. As soon as they saw Hanna, they made a beeline for her. Emily looked especially pissed.

"You better have a really good reason for bringing us here,"

"Yeah," Aria agreed with Spencer. "Like, A better be behind that door over there and police should be ready to raid this place."

"I hope A isn't behind that door." said Hanna seriously. "That would defeat the purpose of this trip."

"Care to fill us in?" seethed Emily.

"She bugged us." They all looked at Hanna. "Or he," she shrugged. "But we're bugged. Our houses, our phones, our cars. We probably have gps trackers on our cars too. I was upstairs talking to Emily upstairs and I said something about how A was a bug. A's not a bug, but she's planting them. That explains how A knows where we go and what we talk about. She knew Emily had that date because she asked Aria's mom. She knew Emily stayed at Maya's and didn't go to the movies because her car never moved from Maya's driveway. A knew where Fitz lived because Aria drove there. She knew we were at Ali's funeral. I mean, that was obvious. I don't think she would need to bug us for that."

"That explains how she knew about Ezra," Aria muttered, more to herself than anyone else. "My phone was tapped even that day I went into the bar."

"It would have been easy to get into my locker at school," Emily said, thinking back to the letter she found in her gym locker about having another friend to kiss.

"The song on the radio," Hanna nodded, knowing she was getting through to them. "That was dedicated to me. She knew I was in the car and listening because she could hear inside my car."

"Knew exactly when and where Hanna was to hit her with the car." said Spencer.

"During testing," Emily said abruptly. "When I was in the library alone looking for the book A told me to find... she knew I'd found it, because she sent you guys a text, didn't she?" The others nodded.

"And she knew we found her bracelet," added Aria. "The second we found it, A knew."

"The cupcakes," Hanna nodded at Aria. She was the only one who knew about A making Hanna eat all those cupcakes and taunting her to throw them back up. They all stood around thoughtfully for a minute, each of them thinking back to texts that A sent them. Everything was clicking.

"How could we not realize this before?" Spencer whispered, looking around. Another bus was unloading.

"Because we weren't think about A," said Hanna. "We have been so concerned about finding Ali's killer that we haven't even been paying attention to the fact that A is actually dangerous. A may not be Ali's killer but she could be ours,"

"You think A would resort to murder?"

"She hit me with a car," exasperated, Hanna's mouth dropped open. "She filmed Emily having sex with Maya. She broke into _your _boyfriends apartment and stole his college degree and she got into Spencer's, filmed us finding her message on the mirror and then left it for us as a gift. I think A will do anything."

"You still haven't told us why we're here," Spencer said, shooting a nervous glance at Aria and Hanna. They were staring at each other, both of their tempers seeming to be rising.

"I wasn't about to tell you all this where A could here us. If I'm right, for the first time in months, A has no idea where we are or what we're doing. We left our bags, we don't have our phones, we didn't say where we were going at the house and we all took different buses."

"Can we stay here forever?" Aria joked, looking around. An old man was wobbling across the room to the ticket booth, hacking and slobbering all over an old tissue. He rapped his cane against the window pane to wake up the teller.

"I got this," Hanna held up the disposable phone. "Call your mom, let her know we just took Emily out for some fresh air."

"Isn't that defeating the purpose of not letting anyone know we're here?"

"Emily is right. My mom's phone is probably tapped too."

"It doesn't matter," she tossed the phone to Aria. "You can call your mom and A can hear our conversation. But she...he...A can't know where the call is coming from because this phone isn't tapped and these phones are made to be untraceable. It will drive A crazy that we went out of bounds."

"Look at you, Veronica Mars." Aria took the phone and stepped away from the group to call her mom. The other three took a seat on a rickety looking bench. Emily looked the most exhausted out of any of them.

"So what do we do now?" asked Spencer.

"Get Emily's girl." Hanna grinned. Emily's head shot up and she began shaking her head fiercely. "Emily, A said publicly break up. She never said to not privately get back together. I already called Maya from the phone and I told her to get on the next bus to Elmhold."

"Hanna!" Emily shot up from her seat. "Do you realize what you just did? Are you an absolute idiot?"

"What?"

"_Maya's phone is probably bugged too,_" hissed Emily. "What were you _thinking? _Now A not only knows that we are here, but it knows that I'm trying to get back together with Maya. The tape is probably already released! Your stroke of brilliance has officially run out and been replaced with confounding stupidity."

"I don't think Maya's phone is bugged." Hanna said sincerely. "Not yet, anyway." Another bus pulled up and Emily's knees wobbled as Maya stepped out. She sank back down into the bench hoping to disappear entirely but Maya had already spotted Hanna's bright blonde hair and her eyes veered over to the right where Emily was. Aria was back now and she handed the phone to Hanna. She noticed Maya now, walking over, and she looked over and down at Hanna. Judging by the look on Aria's face, she was just as surprised – and scared – as Emily.

Maya didn't look any better than Emily. Her hair, which was usually pretty well put together, hung past her shoulders. You could tell she had just run a brush through once and took off out the door. She had changed from the clothes she wore at school; earlier, she had been wearing a vest shirt and a pair of dark jean shorts. Now in their place was an old pair of sweat pants with her California high schools name written on the side and a t-shirt Hanna recognized from Emily's closet. She wasn't wearing any makeup, or maybe she had been but by now it had long smeared off and washed away with her salty tears. She didn't look angry but she didn't look sad either. Her emotions were hidden somewhere behind her face.

"Why am I here?" she asked the question to Hanna, not Emily. Even though her eyes kept darting down to Emily, she never let them linger more than a few seconds.

"You guys need to talk." Hanna dragged Emily from her seat. Weak on her knees, Emily had to balance herself before she could even look up at Maya. Even then, it was too painful. In the one second glance at her face, the flashback of the night they spent together hit her at full force. The other three girls stepped away, taking a walk around the bus terminal. It left Emily and Maya alone, neither of them eager to be the first one to say something. Emily sank back down onto the bench.

"Okay, I'm going." Maya went to turn around but finally Emily found her voice.

"Please don't." It stopped Maya from leaving but it didn't get her to sit down next to Emily. She turned around, her hands on her hips, and looked at Emily.

"You told me to go away, remember? I'm honoring your wish."

"Stop," Emily shut her eyes tight.

"I'm done playing games, Emily." Anger. "I am so sick of your crap. We're together, we can't be together, you can't be gay, your mom is against it, you're gay, we're together, I'm leaving, now you're leaving, you're staying, you're running away, we're together, we _sleep together_, and now you're telling me to leave. Make up your mind!" More anger.

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not allowed to be sorry anymore. I want answers. Why tell me you love me when you clearly don't?"

"I _do _love you."

"Funny way of showing it,"

"I told you there were things about me you couldn't know!"

"You told me those things didn't have anything to do with me! Well they sure are affecting me now. Dammit, Emily, just tell me. What is so horrible?"

"Telling you would drag you in further! I don't want this for you!"

"You know, Emily." Maya laughed a little, but Emily was sure what she was about to say wasn't going to be funny. "All this time you've been running away from me and all this time I've been chasing you. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe I'm the one that should have been running." Her words trickled down Emily's back like ice cold water.

"Please don't say that." Her eyes closed again. "Can you just trust me?"

"Trust you?" she scoffed. "We sleep together and then the next day you scream at me to go away in the middle of the hallway after lunch when everyone is there."

"I'm sorry."

"If you're sorry, you would tell me why you did it." Somewhere inside of her Emily found the courage to stand up. She crossed over to Maya but was careful not to touch her. Emily knew she would crumble if she did. Maya seemed uneasy with Emily this close. She stumbled one step back. They both were looking every where but each others eyes. Emily stared directly at the ground. She jumped when she felt Maya's fingers tickle down her arm. Her eyes snapped to Maya's; Maya wasn't looking at Emily, though. She was watching her own hand move along Emily's skin. With one single finger, she traced the outline of Emily's arm and hand, letting her own hand linger for a second. It was like she was feeling to see if Emily was real. Her hand skimmed across Emily's stomach as it went to the other arm. She traced that too, and then led her hand up Emily's shoulder, cupping her cheek and with her thumb rubbing small circles. Emily stepped closer to Maya.

Dangerously close.

Maya slid her free hand down to Emily's waist. Her eyes flickered up at Emily's; dark brown, even darker than usual. "Just tell me," It broke Emily from her trance. She pulled away from Maya's touch.

"I'm not doing that to you,"

"You may not want to do that to me," she said. "But you're doing this to us." Maya didn't wait for Emily to respond. Her heels turned and she began walking to the ticket vendor window. Wiping droll from the crevices of her mouth, the woman behind the glass tore a ticket from the dispenser and shoved it through the slot for Maya. For a brief moment, Emily thought Maya was coming back. She had turned and faced Emily, but common sense seemed to push the idea away. Maya headed for the bus and without even turning back to look at Emily, she climbed up the steps and took her seat.

Emily went back and found the girls. Naturally, they had been watching, just like Emily had expected. With a pained expression, Hanna sympathetically rubbed Emily's shoulder; she shrugged it away. Hanna shouldn't have brought Maya here. The risk was too great. Emily wasn't just thinking about herself, but Maya too. Emily wasn't the only one in that tape. It takes two to tango. She knew though that Hanna wasn't to blame. Emily could go ahead and tell Maya everything. She did have that option. Maya was right. Emily was doing this to them, not A. She could stand up to A.

Emily just wasn't brave enough.

Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Emily left the bus station and wandered around the town. All four girls felt a little more free. They talked, not about A, but about their days that they had spent apart. Their conversations were more open because there was less of a fear of being overheard. It wasn't until they sat down at a table in the smallest diner that the subject of A was brought back up. It couldn't wait any longer and talking about it in Rosewood wasn't as much of an option anymore. A couldn't know that they were on to him or her.

Hanna tore half of her napkin off and asked the waitress if their were any children's crayons. She brought back a fistful and Hanna picked up a red crayon. At the top of the napkin she wrote A with an underline beneath it. She then looked expectantly at the girls.

"So, who is A?"

None of them answered right away. There were plenty of possibilities. Aria was the first to speak, and she also grabbed the crayon from Hanna's hand. She wrote Noel at the top of the list.

"We can't not have him on the list. He wanted to break up me and Ezra, he wrote that message on Ezra's car, and he was blackmailing Ezra for higher grades."

"I don't think it's Noel," Spencer said seriously. "He isn't a good guy, I'll give you that. But I don't think Noel is any more of a jealous almost-boyfriend who didn't get the girl he wanted. I think he's just bitter." Aria didn't scribble his name out. Instead, she pushed the napkin and crayon to Spencer.

"So who do you think?"

Spencer bit her lip. "I don't think we can not put Melissa's name down,"

"Guys stop." said Hanna. "I think we're getting our murderers and our stalkers confused. We know Melissa can't be the person who pushed Ian because Melissa was in the hospital. We're almost certain that A was the one who pushed Ian, so that makes Melissa innocent of that. We know Ian was with Ali in the woods and Ian was the one who recorded us in our bedrooms. We also know Ian and Ali had a thing. I think if Melissa is guilty of anything, it would be murdering Ali, not stalking us. She had motive. She was in love with Ian and he cheated on her with Ali and god knows who else. Melissa might have snapped. We _were _at Spencer's that night. Melissa could have easily followed Ali out into the woods where she met Ian."

"If that's true," said Spencer. "Then Melissa could have killed me plenty of times. I've kissed nearly half her boyfriends," Spencer counted off on her fingers. "I'm not saying I'm proud of it and I know that Melissa has a green monster inside of her, but something had to of happened to make her really snap."

"Alison was mean," interjected Emily. "It wouldn't surprise me if Ali taunted Melissa about how she and Ian had a fling. That could make anyone snap if they were in love enough."

"Melissa got pregnant once before," Spencer said, just remembering that she had never told the girls. "I forgot to tell you guys. She told me that the reason she was at Hilton's Head with Ian that summer was to get an abortion."

"Convenient," Aria muttered.

"What if she went and found Ian and Ali together?"

"What if," a sudden realization hitting Emily. "-Ali was blackmailing Ian into that relationship?" None of them spoke, letting the wheels in Emily's heads turn. "Listen, she had the videos. She _knew _it was Ian. She kept insisting it was Toby but I bet that was to throw us off. Her entire relationship with Ian depended on us not finding out that Ian was recording us. Of course Ian would go along with it. He _wanted _to be with Ali. He likes little girls," It sent a shiver down all of their bodies. "-but him being blackmailed into it gave him the perfect excuse to give Melissa when she found out. Melissa goes to Hilton Head to surprise Ian, finds him with Ali, and he flies into the whole story about how Ali was blackmailing him into it and he didn't have a choice."

Spencer picked up on the idea and continued for Emily.

"He promises to never see Ali again. We have that sleepover in the barn during the summer when Ali comes home... Melissa could have easily heard me and Ali fight in the kitchen," she said. "She watches Ali leave and go to her and Ian's spot, follows her, and finds Ian there. Melissa is so wrapped in Ian's world she would believe him if he said he was worried about what Ali had on him still and that's why he came. Her and Ali fight. Ali taunts her," she tips her head to Emily for the idea. "Melissa loses it. I've seen her when she loses a tennis match or gets a grade lower than an A. I have no doubt that she could get angry enough to throw a punch at Ali."

"But would a punch kill Ali?"

"Melissa is strong," Spencer shrugged. "She trained every day for two years in tennis. She's _almost _as good as me," There was a little twinkle in Spencer's eye. "If Melissa hit Ali hard enough in the head, even to knock her out, Ali could have died hours later from both Melissa's blow and hitting her head on the ground."

"Then why did Ian and Melissa break up the first time?"

"No idea," answered Spencer. "Maybe they were scared to be seen together if Ali's body was ever found. Then, when Ali's body _was _found, they probably figured being together made more sense than being apart. They could be each others alibis. Who is going to suspect the happily married expecting parents?"

"Especially when they're a Hasting," Hanna pointed out.

"We can't prove any of this though," sighed Aria. "We have no proof. We don't even have the videos anymore," The videos had been erased from Emily's hard drive. "They get away with it."

"If they even did it," Hanna said. "Like you just said, we don't have any proof. Especially on Melissa. All we have is knowledge that Ian video taped us and maybe, _maybe, _Melissa got angry and killed Alison over her affair with Ian. It's all circumstantial."

"And that doesn't get us any closer to finding out who A is." Emily said. The waitress who they had ordered fries from dropped them off at their table. All the girls fell uncomfortably silent in her presence. Popping her gum and setting down a bottle of ketchup, she gave them all a fake, flashy smile and walked away. They put the basket of fries in the middle and all idly picked at them while chewing on their own thoughts. Soon, the sun was beginning to peak back out from the stormy clouds. The fry basket was emptying rather quickly.

"Maybe A is someone we know." It was the first thing anyone said since the waitress brought the fries. They all looked at Hanna in a, 'well _duh'_ sort of way, but she ignored them. "Really. Maybe it's someone we're close with. Friends with." She looked down at her fry. "Dating," she suggested.

"No." Aria shook her head and threw down her fry. "You're crazy. Ezra wouldn't, he would never. He-" she stumbled over her words. "Impossible."

"Well," Spencer bit her lip, thinking thoughtfully at Hanna's new idea. "Fitz did show up when A did."

"So did Maya," said Aria indignantly. "And she's living in Ali's old house."

"Don't even," Emily warned. Seeing the looks coming from both Aria and Emily, Spencer spoke up.

"It can't be Maya. Maya was away at camp for all those months and we still got texts from A. There is no way that it could be Maya," Emily seemed to calm down, but she was still casting subtle glares at Aria across the table.

"Well it can't be Ezra either," Aria folded her arms across her stomach.

"I'm not saying it is," Spencer said, annoyed. "But Fitz has a lot more against him than maya would," Aria sat up to protest but Spencer pressed on. "_Not that he is guilty. _You can't just jump down our throats for suggesting something, Aria. We can't not think about someone just because you're in love with him. We all judged Toby when Emily came to homecoming with him. You didn't have any problem then," snapped Spencer.

"Just stop. We can't start turning on each other," Hanna said. Ignoring her, Aria turned to look Spencer dead in the eye.

"What proof is there that Fitz is A?"

"If there is one thing you should know by now Aria it's that proof doesn't mean we get an answer. Fitz is always going to have a shadow on him because he is dating one of his students. Not just a student, _you. _You really think we can't ignore the fact that he's dating you when he is nearly seven years your senior?"

"Are you trying to make him out to be some pedophile?"

"Guys, stop! This is exactly what A wants!" Emily raised her voice as loudly as she could, but the girls were already attracting fellow diner-goers with their arguments.

"I'm _not,_" Spencer yelled. "I get you guys are a real deal and it isn't...creepy. Whatever. God, can we just drop this?"

"You're such a hypocrite, Spencer." spat Aria. "You kissed all of Melissa's boyfriends and some of them were just as old as Ezra and you were younger than me."

"Okay, it's done." Hanna banged on the table. If people weren't looking before, they were now. The waitress walked over to their table with a hand on her hip.

"Ya'll need to quiet down or leave," she said, a twinge of annoyance in her voice. Aria stuffed a hand in her pocket and pulled out a five. She tossed it on the table, stood, and without even looking at the other girls she took off out of the diner. Spencer put a few bills down for a tip and got up next, leaving Hanna and Emily to apologize to the waitress for the noise. They caught up to Spencer and Aria at the bus stop where both were defiantly not looking at the other. Emily bought tickets back for them, and as they boarded and found seats, only Emily and Hanna sat next to each other. Spencer, looking more depressed than angry, sat in front of the pair while Aria took the seat behind them.

The entire ride back, none of the girls spoke.

**Sorry this took me a bit longer to get up. I had a party Saturday and I didn't get home until two o'clock in the morning. I really wanted this chapter to be perfect, so I didn't want to upload it until I was sure everything happened that I wanted to happen. This might be my favorite chapter. Originally, Emily and Maya were going to get back together but all ya'll really wanted some drama to happen between them so I'm not sure when (or if ;D) they are going to get back together. We'll see. Review and let me know what you think. I put a lot of effort into this chapter so I'd really like to see how you feel about it. **


	8. Broken Rules

Aria didn't wait for any of the girls when she got off the bus. By the time they caught up with her, she was already upstairs in her room with the door closed. Ella watched her storm up the stairs and right after saw Spencer, Emily and Hanna pile in. None of them had much desire to talk. In fact, now that they realized that their lives were probably being recorded, none of them had much desire to talk ever again. Ella was chopping vegetables for dinner and listening to the radio when the girls finally settled onto the couch, too exhausted to even follow Aria upstairs and try and get her to talk. Hanna and Spencer looked at their purses that they had left on the floor. They didn't want to go home, either.

Upstairs, they all heard Aria's music turn on. Emily kept noticing Ella shooting glances over at the girls, but the second Emily would look as well, Ella's eyes would go back down the the vegetables. All things considered, the day was a strange one for her as well and suddenly Emily felt embarrassed that Mrs. Montgomery had seen her so upset. Finally, feeling as though she had nothing to lose, Ella walked over to the girls with a bowl of carrots as a peace offering.

"Anyone care to tell me what's going on?" No one spoke. "Emily?" Silence. "Hanna?" Even more silence. "Spencer?" No one even bothered to look up. All three girls just stared at the coffee table. "Okay," she set down the bowl of carrots on the coffee table and walked back into the kitchen.

"You should apologize," Emily finally said, turning to Spencer. Spencer wasn't having any of it.

"I'm not apologizing for stating the obvious. You cannot tell me that when you first found out you weren't a little worried. You hear about this stuff all the time," she lowered her voice to just barely below a whisper. Emily and Hanna had to push their ears right next to Spencer's mouth in order to understand what she was saying. "Teacher and student relationships never work out. They always end bad. She is fooling herself into believing that her and Fitz are going to last forever. Some day, someone is going to find out. Whether that's when she's a legal consenting adult that is not her student or tomorrow, you cannot tell me that it is healthy for her to be deluding herself. How do we know that he isn't wrapped up in all of this? How do we _really _know he isn't A? Aria is the only one that knows him for what he is."

"Then shouldn't we trust her judgement?" said Hanna.

"I'm not saying Aria is stupid or not smart," Spencer sighed. "I'm saying she's in love and blinded by it. She always will be. She can't look at him and see a suspect. He shows up, woos her in some bar, and now they stay held up in his apartment watching cartoons and eating day old chinese food, mac and cheese and hoping that no one knocks on the door. He is at school, he is with her on the weekends, he has access to _all _of our lockers, to our permanent files, to everything."

"And his connection to Ali?"

"Guys, you aren't getting what I'm saying. I'm not accusing him. I don't think it's Fitz. I'm just saying, if A is someone we know and someone we trust and someone we love, we need to start looking at this objectively and weighing the facts. Aria has a hard time disconnecting her emotions and reality. I don't believe Maya is A either but that doesn't stop me from pointing out that she has opportunity, information and a cell phone."

"Spencer is right." Emily even surprised herself by saying it. "Even I can't deny that she has a point. We need to get serious about this. If," she lowered her voice as well. "-A is someone close to us then we can't just ignore it. He or she is still dangerous. Everyone is a suspect, plain and simple, until we know exactly who A is."

"Girls." Ella's voice startled all three of them out of their discussion. "We broke the rules today, but tomorrow things go back to how they were. I love both you Spencer and you Hanna, but all of us parents made the decision and we're going to uphold it. If you two would like to stay for dinner, that's fine. But tomorrow we're back on track, alright girls?" All their faces fell, but they nodded and thanked her. Taking advantage of the time they had, they trucked up the stairs and filled into Aria's room. The music was even louder upstairs. Emily went to the stereo and flicked the volume knob all the way down. Hanna closed the door, and Spencer went and sat next to Aria on her bed. Aria rolled over to the farthest side away from Spencer.

"I'm _sorry,_" said Spencer to Aria. Aria's head turned away from her, but Emily and Hanna knew she was listening. They egged Spencer on, especially Hanna. Hanna knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of one of Aria's cold shoulders. When Aria shut you out, the world around you seemed a sadder place. "I'm not accusing Fitz of anything. I don't believe he's A. I'm just saying we need to not be so close minded about the people we love being A," she said. "We loved Ali but look at how many of our secrets she spilled. Look at how mean she was. She was our best friend," Aria seemed to be stirring and finally she sat up. She looked at Spencer and at Emily and Hanna who, at this point, were sitting at the window seat. Rolling her eyes, more at herself than at Spencer, Aria spoke.

"I'm sorry too."

"You said it the other day Aria," Emily said. "We can't turn our backs on each other. We all knew we're not A. We only have each other."

"Speaking of having each other," Hanna muttered darkly. "Your mom already told us today was a one time thing. She invited us for dinner but after tonight it's back to being banned from each other."

"This is so stupid." Aria picked up her pillow and pathetically tossed it to the ground. "We didn't do anything wrong."

"We haven't done anything right, either." Spencer said simply.

* * *

><p>Emily was already at her locker before she realized all the stares and whispers were directed at her. Anxiously, she checked her new phone Aria got her, expecting a text from A. All the girls phones were quiet the rest of the night, and this morning when Aria and Emily were getting ready for school they were half expecting to find their phones or e-mails blown up with messages. A surely had noticed that they had gone off her radar. If their houses were as bugged as they believed them to be, there wasn't a doubt in any of the girls minds that A knew exactly how long they had disappeared for and when they returned. A would be mad.<p>

She was more put together today than she had been the day before. Emily woke up with a new determination. If A was bound to break her and Maya up, Emily wouldn't let A watch her be destroyed. That morning Emily raided Aria's closet for something she had never worn before. Today, she had decided, was a new day for herself. Emily had always been a little less clothes oriented than the rest of the girls. She never did too much with her hair because it seemed pointless; as soon as she got to swim practice, it would be ruined. That morning, though, Emily carefully straightened every strand. She shook it out, her hair being so thick, and let it look a little bit messy-chic. She then pulled some of her hair up into a mini back pony tail but left the rest hanging down, with loose wisps of hair framing her face and her bangs brushing against her eyelashes. Her makeup stayed mostly the same; nude, with a little bit of pink in the lip gloss. She wore her favorite pair of dark wash jeans and a top that she found stashed in the back of Aria's closet. What Emily wanted from the day, more than anything, was a little bit of the confidence she felt in herself when she laid in Maya's arms. She wanted to feel again.

The staring and whispering around her wasn't helping. She still hadn't seen a glimpse of Hanna or Spencer yet. Not that it would mean anything, Emily reminded herself. The girls were back to having to sneak around and hide their communications. Even Aria seemed to be missing. Emily took much longer than Aria to get ready that morning so she told Aria to go ahead without her. Emily walked, not much wanting to drive. She hoped the fresh air would do some good.

Emily walked into Fitz's class without even glancing up at the board. He never wrote anything there. Mostly, he conducted their classes on discussion. If he really wanted to write something down he pulled out the projector and scribbled on it with overhead markers. The board, Emily thought, was utterly useless. It didn't occur to Emily how everyone staring, mouths agape, at the board could be in direct correlation to the whispers in the hallways. It wasn't until Emily heard Aria's very distinctive intake of breath and the drop of her books that startled Emily from her desk. Then, Emily saw it; on the blackboard was a picture of Maya and Emily wrapped in each others arms, naked. Though nothing particularly graphic was showing, the message underneath shook Emily to her core.

_Don't mess with me, bitches. I'm the one that wrote the rulebook for this game. -A _

Aria was faster than Emily. She had already ripped the picture down, crumpled it, and tore it into pieces before Emily could even run out of the room.

"Em-" But Emily pushed past her. It felt as if the entire world was staring at her now. Emily ripped the elastic band so the rest of her hair would fall in front of her face, shielding her from most of the stares. Did everyone see? Does everyone _know_? With her hair restricting her vision, Emily didn't even notice the girl in front of a locker when she turned the corner. They collided, books and papers spilling from the girls arms.

"I'm so sorry," Emily bent down and began picking up as many papers as she could before they were trampled on by other students. When she was sure she had grabbed every last one, Emily stood and handed them to whoever she ran into. "Really, I-"

"It's alright," she laughed, but Emily knew she had to be annoyed. She couldn't count how many times she herself had lost papers in the storms of students passing and kicking them around after they'd dropped. Emily had never seen the girl before, though. Her skin was white like paper and her eyes, big and shaped like large almonds, were a dark green with tiny flecks of shimmering gold. Her hair stopped short at her shoulders. It was a dark, sandy blonde. "I'm Rebecca." she stuck out her hand for Emily to awkwardly shake.

"You're new?" Emily guessed, helping Rebecca put her books back into the locker.

"Just moved here."

"Welcome to Rosewood," muttered Emily rather sarcastically, grabbing a math book and fitting it in between an english book and a history book.

"Are the rumors true?" Rebecca asked, hastily shoving a binder in her locker. Emily froze. "You know, about a girl getting murdered here." Her bones seemed to unclench, and Emily relaxed.

"It's true." she nodded. "Alison DiLaurentis."

"Did you know her?"

Emily paused and cast the girl a sideways frown.

"I did,"

"I'm sorry. I was just curious."

"It's fine. I'm used to it. It's just a touchy subject around the town," They each reached for the last book off the ground at the same time, their hands brushing incidentally. Emily shot up right away, mumbling apologies.

"You move fast," a voice said from behind. Maya stood behind Emily. She wasn't frowning or smiling. Her face was completely unreadable.

"Maya, no-"

"Save it."

"Maya!" She was already gone. Clearly, she hadn't seen the photograph or that would have been the first thing she had mentioned.

"A friend?" Rebecca said vaguely, looking at Maya's disappearing shadow.

"Something like that," Emily helped her squeeze the last of her books into her locker. "See you around," It was a distant and awkward goodbye, but Emily took off in the direction that Maya had left, but not before glancing up at one of the hall clocks to see how long before classes begun. Emily had a meager ten minutes and she knew that Aria would want to talk before class. She didn't want to give her the chance though. Avoiding Fitz's classroom, Emily began searching for Maya. She found her leaving the cafeteria with a bottle of juice in her hand. Maya tried swerving to the right to avoid Emily, but Emily caught on too quickly. She blocked her. "We need to talk."

"We're done talking," Maya tried maneuvering around her again.

"We're not," Emily insisted.

"I'm out of here."

"No, please."

"Hey, look who it is!" Noel had entered the cafeteria with a group of friends. They stood behind Emily, and though her back was to him, she knew he was pointing at her and Emily.

"Hey look, it's me." Maya said carelessly. "Who the hell are you?"

"Hey now," Noel laughed, holding up his hands in faux defense. "No need to get snippy. We were just wondering if you'd like to give us a better look at what the picture didn't show," Emily whipped around. Noel was grinning from ear to ear.

"What picture?"

"Maya, we should talk."

"What, you didn't tell her, Fields?" It was as if Christmas came early for Noel. Aria, Hanna and Spencer were walking in now. All three of them looked at Noel, instant realization hitting them. "You're famous, new girl. You and your girlfriend here are the talk of the school. I don't know who A is but, ha, I'd be happy to thank her,"

"What is he talking about, Emily?"

"There's a picture," Aria, Hanna and Spencer were moving through the crowd now. "It's of us. We're together..."

"As in?"

"Together."

Maya was completely silent for thirty seconds, but then she turned to Noel.

"Like that, did you?" she flirted, flashing her eyes up at him. He grinned and looked back at his friends, then moved closer to her, letting his hand rub her shoulder. "Well I hope you memorized it," her smile vanished and she kicked his ankle. "Because you will _never _get to see anything that was in that picture in real life." Noel, his teeth clenched in pain, hopped backwards to his friends. He saw Aria.

"Oh hey, Aria." he snapped. "How's your boyfriend?"

"I don't know, how's yours?" she pushed past him, Hanna and Spencer right behind, and got to where Emily and Maya were standing. "You okay?" she asked.

"Who is A?" interrupted Maya. "And how did she get this picture?"

"I don't know and I don't know." Emily said honestly.

"Where is it?" she asked.

"The picture? I crumpled it up. It's gone." Aria shot a shaky look at Emily. "For now, at least. As long as there aren't any other copies."

"Emily..." Spencer spoke next. She gave Emily a little nod, hoping she would take it is 'tell Maya about the video and tell her what's going on'. Though Emily didn't pick up on it, Maya did.

"There's more?"

Nervously, Emily looked around, but before she could say anything the warning bell chimed. None of them could afford another tardy. Maya left first, not bothering to say goodbye, while Emily, Hanna, Spencer, and Aria left for Fitz's room. The message was erased, most likely by Aria, when Emily walked into the classroom. She sank into her seat. Most everyone's eyes were on her now.

Emily sank lower into her desk, took out her book, and stared her eyes fixedly on the page.

* * *

><p>Aria and Emily walked to the car together after classes. Emily was relieved that the swimming season was over and she didn't have to go and face her teammates. By lunch, most of the school had heard what had happened in Mr. Fitz's english room and what the blackboard had on it. As if that wasn't disturbing enough, even Ella had caught wind of the situation.<p>

"Ezra texted me to stop by his apartment to pick something up," said Aria as she pulled out of the parking lot. Mostly everyone had left already. Emily and Aria hid in the bathrooms until they were sure the school was quite empty, mostly so Emily could get to her locker and grab her homework without so many people staring. "Do you mind? My mom will ask where I'm going if I drop you off first,"

"Sure." Nervously, Emily began tapping her fingers against the car door. Aria hummed to the music on the radio as they drove downtown to Ezra's apartment. When they reached it, Aria parked in her normal parking spot; far enough away to suggest she was visiting a different building, but not too far away that it was an awkwardly long walk.

"You can come," Aria offered. Emily shook her head.

"He's my teacher," she smiled weakly. Aria promised she would make it quick and took the sidewalk by storm. Aria climbed the stairs until she reached the third floor and stepped out onto the landing. It took her only a second, though, to duck quickly back in and hide behind the grey steel door. Ella, Aria's mom, was stepping out of Ezra Fitz's apartment with a book in her hand.

"Thanks so much for letting me borrow it. Someone sent me a review of it in my e-mail and it sounded really great. I've had a hard time finding a copy though." she said earnestly, gazing at the back cover. "I'm really interested in bringing it up to my students. I think they're ready for this type of literature."

"Well," Ezra shifted uncomfortably. "I could have brought it in tomorrow." Not picking up on his hesitation, Ella just smiled.

"I had business in this area anyway. Plus, I really want to get a jump start on reading this."

"Glad I could help."

"How's Aria doing?"

"Pardon?"

"Aria?" she laughed a little. "My daughter? She's been going through a lot lately and I just wanted to make sure it isn't affecting her schoolwork."

"Aria, ha." he scratched his forehead. "Yeah, she's doing great. Great as ever." Ezra cleared his throat.

"Good, good." sighed Ella. "I'm just so worried that Alison's death affected her more than Byron and I realized, you know? We have her going to this therapist now but I just don't think it's helping. We've separated her from the other girls, hoping that some time apart and some space from Alison's memory would help her, but now with Emily living with us... it's just hard."

"Aria is strong," he insisted. "And to be frank, I don't think separating her from her friends will do her anymore good than it will harm. If there is one thing I've noticed about Aria, it's that her friends mean a great deal to her."

"You know, Ezra," said Ella. "I'm beginning to think the same thing. Thanks again for the book and the talk,"

"Anytime." nodded Ezra. Panicking, Aria took the stairs two at a time until she reached a different floor. Above her, she could hear her moms quiet heels on the concrete steps. Panting slightly from her quick movements, Aria waited until she could hear her mom down on the bottom floor before she reentered the stairwell. From there, she went up again and banged on Ezra's door.

"Aria?" Surprised, Ezra moved out of her way to invite her inside.

"Why do you sound so surprised? And why was my _mother _just here? Why would you invite me over if you knew she was coming?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You texted me? You told me you needed to give me something."

"No, I didn't." he said seriously. "I haven't sent you any text today and I had no clue that your mother was coming over for that book until she showed up at my door. We were talking in the teachers lounge today, she mentioned it, I said I had a copy, and she asked to borrow it sometime. I didn't realize that was an invitation to come over and get it," Aria wasn't listening though. She pulled out her phone and shoved it in his face. The text, sent from Ezra's number, read exactly the same message as it had hours ago: _"come over after school, have something for you. See you later." _"Aria, I swear to you. I never sent you that text."

"I have to go." Aria darted out of the apartment and down the stairs for the second time. Emily was still waiting in the car, but she looked disturbed.

"Your mom-"

"I know. Did she see you?"

"I don't think so. I saw her coming out of Fitz's and I ducked."

"Ezra didn't invite me here tonight," said Aria. "A sent that text from his phone. A got his phone. How did A get his phone?" Just then, Aria's phone began vibrating in the cup holder. She snatched it up.

_You broke the rules too. -A_


	9. Together Again

The car ride back to Aria's was silent. At one point, Aria pulled over, her hands shaking too much from the close call to be able to drive. Emily slid in the seat instead and drove them the rest of the way home. It was what they found waiting in the driveway that had Aria ready to double over and vomit where she sat. In the driveway sat one police car, empty, giving both the girls the impression that there was an officer waiting inside. They grabbed their bags and walked into the house to find one police officer, Byron and Ella all sitting in the living room. Both girls dropped their bags.

"What now?" Emily spoke first.

"There has been a development in the missing persons case of Ian Thomas." the officer stood. Neither Aria or Emily recognized him, but the sound of Ian's name rolling off his tongue both scared and relieved the girls. This wasn't about Ezra and Aria's relationship, at least. This was about Ian. Either the police discovered evidence that he is dead and redeems the girls, or they've discovered evidence that he is alive and they want answers to questions the girls don't have. "We were hoping that you and your parents could come down to the station. Hanna Marin and Spencer Hastings will be waiting."

"And my mom and dad can come?" Aria asked warily. The officer nodded. "O-okay."

"Please," he opened his arm, gesturing for the girls to step out first. Ella and Byron were right behind them, each grabbing their jackets from the coat rack. The officer climbed into his car and led the way to the precinct with Byron following. Emily and Aria sat in the back seat, each casting the other furtive glances.

* * *

><p>The Marin's and the Hastings' were already at the station when Aria and Emily arrived. The police officer led them into the conference room. Mrs. Hastings looked as though she had been crying and, much to the surprise of both Emily and Aria, Melissa was sitting at her side. Spencer, Hanna, Emily and Aria didn't look at each other. It was too dangerous.<p>

The chief of police walked in right after Byron and Ella. He had a stack of folders under the crook of his arm and he spread them out on the table before taking his seat. It was quiet for a moment. He was mostly staring at the girls one by one running down the line. He settled on Melissa and Spencer in the end.

"We went back and listened to the 911 call that Ms. Marin made from her cell phone in the car," he said, opening a folder. It looked like he pulled out a transcript. "Ms. Marin never spoke, but after we enhanced the tape and isolated the background noises we were surprised to hear the voice of Ms. Hastings." he nodded at Spencer. "From what we could tell, Spencer's phone dialed one of the your phones and you had her on speaker. When we isolated the noise, we were able to hear most of the conversation between Mr. Thomas and Ms. Hastings. Some was, of course, too distorted and inaudible but," his voice was gravely and rough. He cleared his throat and peered at the papers through his old eye glasses. "we have determined that Ms. Hastings was telling the truth, at the very least, that Mr. Thomas was attempting to hurt her the night in question."

Melissa, having been quiet the entire time, let out a giant sob. At least, Emily thought, Melissa's sobs covered the great gasps of relief coming from each of the four girls. But all of them didn't feel very free for long; they were all thinking the same thing. Ian confessed to Alison's murder that night. Did they know?

"However, it doesn't explain where he is or if he is alive or dead."

"My husband tried to murder my sister?" Melissa choked out.

"From the phone call, we can, with certainty, say that on that night your husband tried hurting your sister. I can't comfortably say murder-"

"My screaming and begging him not to do it wasn't enough for you?" snapped Spencer.

"Spencer, please." Mrs. Hastings said. "What do we do now, Chief?"

"As of now, we are placing a warrant in Ian Thomas' name for the assault of Spencer Hastings. But, to be perfectly honest ma'am, if we haven't found Ian yet I'm not sure if we're going to anytime soon. We have had men looking for him for weeks now. We're not going to stop looking," he assured. "but I'm not promising a quick closed case. You're a lawyer. When and if this goes to trial, we only have the isolated audio as evidence. A judge might not convict."

"What else did you hear on the tape?" Hanna blurted out. Aria shot her a look.

"The tape was primarily Ms. Hastings screaming for help and conversing with Mr. Thomas. A lot of the audio was garbled," he passed the transcript to Spencer's mom. "We have enough to know that Spencer's life was threatened. It's enough to corroborate most of her story."

"Ian killed Alison." Spencer said bluntly.

"Spencer please," Melissa was crying harder now. "It's bad enough that my husband tried hurting you. Now you're going to blame him for Alison's murder as well? Just stop."

"I've said it once and I'm sticking to my story," Spencer looked straight into the chief of police's eyes and didn't waver for even a second. "Ian Thomas killed Alison DiLaurentis. He confessed to me that night in the church."

"If you could recap the night for us,"

"How many times do I have to tell you!" Spencer was beginning to get angry. "I went to the church to find Melissa's phone. Ian snuck up behind me. I tried to tell him that Melissa was hurt and in the hospital and he told me he knew. He told me he was waiting for me to leave. He told me _Melissa would understand that he had to do this,_" Melissa looked at Spencer with curiosity. Spencer never told her that part. "He chased me. I ran up into the stairwell because it was the only place that was left to go. As I was going up the stairs, I called Emily. That's how you got the call."

"And I called 911," Hanna said quietly. "Right after we heard Ian's voice. We knew what was happening."

"Do you recall what Ian said?" the chief asked, a deputy by his side taking notes.

"She told him that her mom knew she was there," said Aria.

"And he said it was the perfect place for her suicide." finished Emily. The night stuck in the girls mind like glue.

"We struggled on the platform. He told me he had to kill Alison. He told me it was an accident and that she fell."

The officers stopped her and began digging through notes. All the girls saw Alison's picture paper clipped to a file. It was the record of her murder.

"It says here that Alison DiLaurentis was murdered by suffocation not head trauma."

"I told him that," Spencer said quickly. "He ignored me."

"And then?"

Spencer began to get nervous. Reliving the night in her dreams was bad enough. Now having to, once again, record it for the police was becoming too much for her.

"He told me he left a note on my computer," she muttered. "It was a suicide note. It said that the guilt was just too much for me and I couldn't handle it. It said that I killed Alison. I checked my computer later to see if the note was there but it wasn't. Either it got erased or he was planning on doing it after my death, I don't know. He pushed me against the banister and it broke. He said he was doing it because he loved Melissa. I fell and managed to hold onto both the railing and Ian. He yelled at me to let go and that was when someone else showed up. Ian acted surprised, like he knew them, and whoever it was pushed Ian. I struggled and pulled myself up. I looked down and Ian was swinging from ropes. He was _dead. _Hanna, Emily and Aria got there right after that. They found me upstairs and helped me."

"Look," the chief loosed his tie and smiled meekly at Spencer. "We got him on the assault charge, at least. But there is absolutely no proof that Ian Thomas killed that girl."

"Go over the 911 call again! He confessed! He said it straight to my face."

"We got all we're going to get from that tape. We heard him talk about you killing yourself and we heard him talk about Melissa," the officer tipped his hat in her direction. Melissa was crying into Mrs. Hastings shoulder now. "We know you're telling the truth about the attack, Spencer, but we can't take the word of four sixteen year old girls on who is a murderer."

"He tried to murder me. Is that not murderer material enough?"

"And we can get him on that charge," he said tiredly. "But Alison is a separate case entirely."

"What does this mean for our girls?" Ella asked. "Are they no longer suspects?"

"In the case of Ian Thomas, no. Do they look less like suspects now in the case of Alison? A bit. We're going to take your accusations against Ian seriously, make no misunderstanding. But I'm not going to give your girls false hope. We'll dig around a little but Alison's murder is a cold case at this point. You girls are no longer _active _suspects. We still retain the right to bring you in for questioning at any time," he stood up and began gathering the files. "I still feel like you girls are hiding something and believe me when I say that I will find out. You're free to go."

"I'm sure," Mrs. Hastings stood. "That there will be a police statement tomorrow relinquishing our daughters from the cross arrows that they have had on them since you began bringing them in as suspects and dirtying their character."

"We will be releasing a statement alerting the community to be on high alert for Ian Thomas." he said, setting down the stack of files again. "Look, all of you. This case is as baffling for us as it is for you. Ian disappeared and your girls claim his body was hanging from ropes in the church. We can confirm that he assaulted your daughter and tried to harm her but we can't prove that he ever fell from that banister like Spencer says that he did. She claims he died, but there is no body."

"What reason is there to not trust her? You have proof that she's telling the truth," Ms. Marin said.

"The truth is nothing without proof when it comes to the law." he said sadly.

"Ian killed her." Spencer didn't speak with anger or irritation. "He killed her. He tried to kill me. He will try to kill again if he gets the chance."

"I promise we're taking this seriously. He'll go in the books as a suspect but it is on your word and your word alone." The chief left before anyone could say another word. All of the parents were leading out of the room first. Melissa looked at Spencer, one fleeting look, and followed their mother out the door. The girls looked around at each other and the empty conference room unsure of what even just happened.

"We had proof," Aria cut the silence. "-and it's gone."

"Guys," Spencer said quietly. So quietly, that none of them heard her. Hanna spoke next, completely oblivious to the fact that Spencer said anything at all.

"We should have come to the cops when A sent that tape of Ian."

"Guys-" Spencer said again. Again, she was ignored.

"It's too late now. If we keep thinking about it we're going to go crazy." Emily grabbed her bag off the floor and made to exit the room. Spencer grabbed her arm though.

"Guys!" It was almost a shout. "Ian didn't kill Alison." It was as if the entire room froze in time. Emily dropped her bag back onto the floor. Aria and Hanna's mouths were open at identical angles. None of them could believe that those words just came out of Spencer's mouth.

"Are you on something? Did we not just sit through the same conversation? You just told the cops that Ian killed Alison. We heard him confess."

"Yeah, we did." Spencer seemed spacey. She was staring at the wall passively. "We heard him confess to pushing Alison and we heard him say he killed her. But he didn't kill her."

"I'm getting a migraine," Hanna whined.

"If Ian didn't kill her, why confess?"

"Because," Spencer said simply. "_He was doing it all for Melissa._"

* * *

><p>Before Spencer could say much else, the parents came back in the room looking for them. They were shuffled out one by one and said their goodbyes at the car, but not before each of the parents apologized to their daughters for not having believed them. Much to all their relief, they conceded that it would be alright for the girls to start seeing each other again within reason. They were not, they said, out of the woods yet and they needed to keep their noses out of trouble.<p>

The next day, Saturday, brought an entirely new atmosphere in the Montgomery household. Aria and Emily came downstairs for breakfast and found Byron, Ella and Mike all seated at the kitchen table together. Filling their plates with hashbrowns and eggs, they took their seats. Aria then noticed the book next to her mothers plate. It was the same one that she had borrowed from Ezra. She uncomfortably shifted in her seat.

"You know I was thinking," Ella began, taking a sip of orange juice. "Maybe I could host a dinner party for some of the teachers at school." Aria began choking on her eggs. Emily smacked her on the back a couple times. "Probably just the English department, you know. Mr. Fitz and some of the others."

"Mr. Fitz?" Aria's voice sounded more high pitched than normal. Ella didn't seem to notice.

"I think it would be nice," she said. "Now that I'm working there full time. What do you guys think?" Mike didn't even look up from his plate. He continued to chew his eggs in silence. Aria and Emily looked at each other. The idea of Ezra in the house _again _seemed to be pushing their luck. Now that A was angry at them, could they really risk something like this?

"I think it's a good idea, Ella." Byron said. "It's always good to be on good terms with your coworkers."

"Ezra let me borrow this book," she said, swallowing another mouthful of eggs. Byron picked it up and examined the cover.

"Oh yeah, I heard about this."

"I'm hoping to add it to the lesson plan before the year is over."

"Hopefully your kids can handle it," Byron said seriously. "It's a heavy book, from what I heard. I'm not even sure if the administration will like you drawing from it,"

"The administration has dealt with more suggestive books than this one," she tusked. "Anyway, I figured we could do a little dinner party here next weekend. It would give me time to get the menu together and get this house clean. You kids can help," Mike just shrugged. Aria and Emily glanced at each other and went back to their breakfast. "Your father and I are leaving for a bit," Ella stood and took her and Byron's plates to the sink to rinse them. "If you want to have Spencer and Hanna over you can go ahead."

"Thanks," Aria said quickly, stuffing the last bit of egg in her mouth and dropping her plate off on the counter. "That sounds like a really good idea." The girls hadn't had a chance to talk since the night before. Emily and Aria had stayed up for hours, but without Spencer there to fill in the blanks with what she was thinking before they left the station, they got no where. Emily was already texting Spencer and Hanna to come over before they even reached Aria's room.

It took Spencer and Hanna only ten minutes to bang on Aria's front door. Upstairs, huddled on the comfort of Aria's bed, they felt as if they had never spent the weeks apart that they did. As soon as they were sure Ella and Byron had left and Mike was in his room, Spencer dished.

"Melissa killed Ali."

"Spencer, I know we've fooled with the idea that Melissa killed her but are we really serious? Are we really seriously accusing your perfect sister of murder?" Emily was skeptical.

"It makes sense." Spencer pulled out a tiny notebook from her bag and opened it to the first page. Inside, Spencer had written page after page of all the ideas she had regarding Alison's murder. None of the girls had ever seen it before and Emily, Aria and Hanna were almost certain she only started it last night. "I think that night after me and Ali fought, Ali went off to find Ian. Melissa must have heard me and Ali fight. She knew Ali was walking alone and she wanted to confront her. She _thought _Ali was going home. We can see Ali's house from my house, it would make sense that Melissa assumed Ali was just too upset with me to stay for the sleepover. Melissa followed her to talk about Ian and Hilton's Head. When she realized Ali _wasn't _going home, she was curious. She kept following her."

"Hold on," Aria put her hand up. "Melissa was following Ali and Ali didn't notice?"

"It wouldn't be that hard," shrugging, Spencer continued. "Melissa finds Ali and Ian being all cuddly or whatever they were doing. We know Ali was flirting with Ian because we saw the video. She was coaxing Ian. Melissa loses it and comes out from where ever she was watching and confronts the both of them. Ian repeats the wild story about how Alison is blackmailing him and he is just doing what she wants him to do. Melissa and Ali fight. Ali says something that really jerks Melissa and they start fighting. Sometime during the fight, Melissa strangles Alison. Alison suffocates, but Ian thinks that Melissa just hit her so hard that she died. Ian, realizing what Melissa just did, vows to protect her in any way possible. Him confessing is doing just that, even though he thought he would ultimately get away with it because he was killing me. I was getting too close to the real truth and he knew he couldn't risk it anymore."

"So all this Melissa will understand crap," said Hanna. "He really meant it. It wasn't just some deluded weirdo killer speech?"

"I don't think so," Spencer said. "Melissa killed Ali. Ian, desperate, covered it up."

"That actually makes sense."

"So if we know Melissa killed Ali and Ian helped her cover it up, who is A and why are they toying with us?" asked Emily. Aria, more shocked than confused, looked through Spencer's notes and said,

"Do you think there was a third person?"

"And the third person is A? I don't know. I don't understand A at all. It's like, they want us to find out who did it but they want to hurt us in the process. It doesn't make any sense. A sent us the video tapes from that night of Ali and Ian. That basically gave us proof that Ian killed Ali. If they were involved in the murder, why would they want Ian caught? Ian could use it as leverage and get a deal with the DA. But A also tries to use our secrets against us and get _us _in trouble."

"I think we screwed up," said Emily. "We should have gone to the cops when we could have."

"They haven't exactly been on our side, Em." Aria deadpanned.

"No one has exactly been on our side." Spencer muttered seriously.

"The tapes are gone, Ian is gone, and A is somewhere out there with all our secrets. Does anyone else feel like we're just getting deeper and deeper involved?" Hanna flopped backwards and closed her eyes.

Aria, Emily and Spencer just stared at each other.

They were getting deeper involved, and all of them were wondering the same thing: how much deeper before they actually incriminate themselves?

**Sorry guys. I've been working on my own novel. Let me know what you think of this chapter. Also, here are a few responses to some of the reviews I've been getting. I really appreciate the feedback, so thanks a lot.**

**Tenysha – Maya and Emily will have more moments in the upcoming chapters, I promise. Thanks for the compliment!**

**Misshighyellow – It's allll good. Have a good vacation? Ha Sorry about no internet access. **

**Wishing Only Wounds the Heart – I was a bit nervous to add that scene but I looked back at previous episodes and it's not as though A isn't scared to do something public enough to hurt one of the girls. He/she sent the photos to Emily's mom and I thought that daring enough, as well as the letter to Ella. It was a risk but I took it. I want to stay as close to the story line as possible. I'm glad that you're enjoying it. **

**No Name – You say this story is too dramatic, but it makes me wonder if you watch the show? Haha The show in itself is probably one of the most dramatic on television. :) Thanks for reading though, even if you don't like it. Hopefully I can improve it to your liking. **


	10. We

Aria hadn't spoken to Ezra in several days. Mostly, they saw each other in class. Even after their last encounter, tangled together on his couch and his rejection of sex, Aria still found herself angry about the Jackie situation. Most of Aria's nights now consisted of laying on her bed and talking to Emily about Ezra while Emily worked on both of their homework. Eventually, somewhere between Aria deciding she wanted to break up and then insisting she never meant it, Emily would give up and push the homework to the side and daydream about Maya.

The whole city of Rosewood seemed to have turned upside down in the past few days. True to their word, the Rosewood City Police issued a public statement alerting the community that Ian could be dangerous. Though they didn't come out and say that the girls story turned out to be true, the Chief of Police did say that the _individuals _involved in the night if Ian Thomas' disappearance provided substantial evidence to the police that led them to this decision. It was good enough, the girls thought. Everyone knew who he was talking about.

Spencer Hastings, the sister-in-law and alleged victim.

Emily Fields, the swimmer turned lesbian.

Aria Montgomery, inconspicuous former goth girl turned flirt.

Hanna Marin, daughter of divorcees, shoplifter and crazy car wrecker.

Separate, they were labels. Together, they were gossip.

The gossip had died down considerably. Most of the towns focus was redirected on Ian and, naturally, Melissa. Though Spencer was convinced that Melissa was in contact with Ian after seeing her muddy boots and raincoat, Melissa had most definitely not left their house since the day of the police statement. She mostly stayed hauled up in the living room with a bowl of popcorn that sat generally untouched. The television was always on, but she never seemed to be watching it. And the phone, the phone which Spencer wanted so desperately to snatch from her sisters boney little fingers, was clutched idly in her hand and never left her side.

Ian's new reputation wasn't the only thing new to Rosewood. Jason, Ali's older, anger driven brother, had returned. Maya and Emily hadn't spoken at all since the cafeteria, but rumor around town was Jason, whose family had been renting out their house to the St. Germaine's, bought them out of their lease in order to move back into the old DiLaurentis' home. Maya and her family were now living not too far from Aria's, just two streets over. Spencer, quite aware of how odd Jason moving back was, took it upon herself to start talking to him. None of the girls knew what to make of Jason. He seemed to have regressed to his teen years; when Jason DiLaurentis came back for Alison's memorial, he was clean shaven and his hair was trimmed. He wore a suit. His voice was light and he never spoke much louder than just above a whisper. Now, Spencer said, Jason was back to wearing his dark form fitting t-shirts and his hair had fallen a bit below his ears. Most of the time, she said, she heard him yelling at animals from the porch.

Emily had suggested on night that Jason was simply angry that Ian got away. Spencer, a befuddled look on her face, told them how he seemed more concerned that Ian confessed. Had it been her sisters killer, Spencer would have wanted to know how he got away, not what he said word for word. None of them quite understood Jason's sudden appearance nor his badgering of Spencer. If anything, they were more upset about someone, more likely than not Ian, breaking into the Hastings house and hurting Aria. Aria seemed completely at ease though, the days following her attack, and after much reprimanded from Ella and Byron for going into a house that was clearly broken into, it was done. Even the police seemed to have forgotten what happened that night. No one called Aria to check in or update them. And no one, especially Spencer's parents, ever let Ian's name slip from their lips as a suspect. That didn't stop word from slithering around town. Despite the fact that the girls were no longer _prime _suspects in the towns eyes, it didn't end the little whispers here and there. They were rare, but they were there. Aria was defiantly avoiding Ezra. He would try keeping her after class but by the time he got around to saying her name she was already out the door. Surely, he had heard, and surely, he wanted to talk to her about it. But Aria, still too confused about where their relationship was and was heading, didn't much feel like talking.

It was Wednesday and Aria was lounging in Ezra's apartment. It was a poor decision. She knew it when she accepted his offer. Aria hadn't been able to sneak from the classroom quick enough and he held her back that day. Begging, he promised that the meeting would only take a little while and if she waited, they could have dinner and talk.

"_I know you're still upset about Jackie," he said._

"_Yeah, you're right. I am. I'm also upset that you wont," Aria and Ezra were standing very close. It was too close for school, and she backed up until she was leaning against a student desk. With a quick look around the room and a glance at the closed door, she let her voice speak in only a whisper. "-have sex with me. I bet you had sex with her."_

"_If I did," he hissed, looking at the door as well. "It was because she was over eighteen, legal, and I didn't work with her mother."_

"_You're not going to be working with my mother forever."_

"_And you won't be sixteen forever." _

"_We're not having this conversation right now," Aria turned to walk away but Ezra grabbed her arm. _

"_You're right. We're not." She squirmed away from him. "Please, just wait at my apartment after school. The meeting shouldn't take long. My last day is Friday, you know." _

"_I know."_

"_Your mom is having that party Saturday." _

"_I know that too. By the way, she's turning it into a _bon voyage _party for you."_

"_I guess I have no choice then but to come."_

"_I guess you don't." _

"_My apartment," he sighed. "After school. Please."_

"_Fine." Turning on her heels, Aria left the room to find one of the girls. She needed a cover for tonight. _

Aria flicked through his magazines. She had already gotten two texts from him asking her to wait. This meeting, Aria thought sourly, was taking a lot more time than he promised. She walked around the room, sat in every chair, dug through the fridge which, as usual, was very bare. Her phone jingled from across the room and she climbed over the couch to grab it. Not very surprised, it was another text from Ezra asking her to wait just a bit longer. Aria looked at her watch. It was already six o'clock.

Aria slid into Ezra's rolling computer chair and shook his laptop awake. It wasn't a good idea, she kept telling herself. She opened up his internet browser and to no surprise he was still logged into his Facebook. She pulled up the photo of Jackie and Ezra and stared at it. Maybe it was the emptiness of the room around her that drove her to insanity, but the longer she stared at the picture the harder it was to look away. Another half hour had passed before she tore her eyes away and rolled over to Ezra's old fashioned typewriter.

If Aria couldn't even look at a picture of Jackie without wanting to rip her heart out, how could she bare knowing that every day Ezra was working with her? Hollis was the school where her dad flirted with infidelity and he didn't even have a previous lover working there. It was a fluke. Ezra and Jackie had history. With dry eyes but a heavy heart, Aria dropped a piece of parchment paper into the slot and readied the typewriter. Though she was a very natural fast typer, she used only one finger to type her message.

_Sorry we couldn't make this work. -Aria_

She left it there knowing that he would eventually see it. Her hand knocked the laptop and closed down all the windows she opened. She shut it down and then, without even a glance back at the letter that would end her relationship with Ezra Fitz, Aria left 3B.

* * *

><p>Emily didn't know what she was doing, but it wasn't good. Something inside of her had snapped. Her feet hit the pavement hard. She wasn't running but she wasn't walking either. It was more of a steady fast-walk that was leaving her out of breath more and more with each step. Aria had left for Ezra's right after school and Emily, not feeling like sitting at the house alone, began walking around the neighborhood.<p>

Some would say that isn't the smartest decision for someone who has a stalker and has already had two friends injured and one friend murdered. Emily didn't seem to care anymore. What more could A do to her? A already had a sex tape that could destroy Emily in a single second. The only solace Emily got at night was knowing that her mom still hadn't seen it. She called every night like clockwork and Emily knew that, had she seen the tape or even gotten wind of it, Emily would be on a plane to Texas.

The neighborhood seemed quieter than usual. Emily passed her old house. Whoever moved in had already repainted the porch. Emily's heart gave a little tug but she kept moving on. Rosewood wasn't that big and all the girls lived pretty close together. Aria's house was just a street over. Maya's was a street after that.

Emily wasn't even sure which house was Maya's which is what made her idea to go there even more stupid. She was hoping there would be a car in the driveway that Emily recognized or a sign that whoever lived in the house was artistic musicians with a rowdy daughter. Emily didn't even know what she would say to Maya when she got there. Mostly, Emily thought, she just wanted someone to talk to that didn't know about Ian, A or Ezra. As Emily rounded the corner, she realized she didn't need a car in the driveway or a sign about the house holding a family of musicians. Maya was sitting on the porch, a smile drawn across her face, with a girl whose hair was light and wavy. It was Rebecca, Emily noticed as she got closer, the girl who Emily had run into at school. The two were sitting across from each other with their legs folded. Rebecca was smiling as well. They both seemed to have just gotten over laughing. Emily stopped walking but she couldn't turn around, either. She stared. Maya noticed her.

It took Maya a moment to get over the shock of being watched. She finally stood up and Emily had the intense urge to run away and never look back. Maya walked down the four steps on her porch and down to where Emily stood on the sidewalk. She was three houses away from Maya and when Maya had finally got to her Emily knew that Rebecca couldn't hear them.

"What are you doing here?" Maya asked.

"I don't know," said Emily honestly.

"You don't know."

"I don't."

"You know Becca," Maya threw a finger over her shoulder and pointed to the porch. Emily nodded and swallowed. "So did you come here just to stare at me and my girlfriend or do you have something to say?" It was like someone punched Emily in the stomach – multiple times over. Here stood Emily's first real love. Emily could admit it now. Ali wasn't her first real love. Love comes two ways. Emily loved Ali, but Ali never loved Emily the way Emily wanted to be loved. Maya did. And here she stood, her arms folded across her chest, looking at Emily in a way that Emily never thought Maya would look at her. Her eyes weren't look at Emily's eyes but they were full of anger. Emily's mind flashed to her last night with Maya.

The way Maya's skin glided across hers...how their hands fit together like a puzzle...Maya's lips kissing down Emily's collarbone...her eyes, so full of love and caring, dropping down to memorize every curve of Emily's body.

"So?" said Maya impatiently, tapping her foot. Emily didn't say anything. There was nothing left to say. Now, Emily was running. She was running faster than she ever ran in her life. Emily didn't know if she was running away from Maya, Becca or both. Maybe Emily was just running away from her life, but Emily ran and she didn't stop until she reached the center of town where the newly built memorial for Alison DiLaurentis rested. Emily wanted to rip every stone from the ground. She wanted to do what Lucas had the guts to do and smash the concrete basin and the benches apart. This was _Alison's _fault. Alison was the one who flirted with Ian. She made Melissa mad. It was Alison that blinded Jenna and brought all of them down with her. Alison made Emily fall in love with her. She toyed with Emily. She broke Emily.

Alison brought the girls down in life and death. Emily, her knees shaking, didn't care if A spilled all their secrets. Ultimately, it was Ali who did it. Alison created A. Alison created them all. And Alison, even in death, was destroying them one by one.

Emily kicked the bench seat and walked away, bottling her anger inside.

* * *

><p>"Is this weird?" Spencer pulled her dress down uncomfortably and looked around Aria's house. Ella had invited all the girls to her going away party for Mr. Fitz. Aria, who had feigned sick for the two remaining school days that Ezra worked at Rosewood, was still upstairs when Emily came down to greet them. Hanna and Spencer were the first to arrive. None of Ella's guests seemed to have shown up yet. The house had been cleaned and beautifully decorated with Hollis's colors. There were vegetable and snack trays strewn across the bottom floor of the house. It even smelled faintly of cinnamon which Emily knew came from the candle in the kitchen. "Should we be here?"<p>

"I don't see why not," Emily shrugged, picking up a carrot and dipping it in the ranch. "Besides, I think Aria needs all the support she can get today."

"Is her mom actually making her come downstairs? She's been 'sick', hasn't she?" Hanna grabbed a carrot as well and followed Emily upstairs with Spencer right behind them.

"I think she knows Aria has been faking."

"How?" They were near Aria's door so Spencer dropped her voice to a whisper.

"Because she told Aria that whatever she was upset about she needed to get over and get dressed." Emily stepped into the room she and Aria shared. Aria was sitting on the bed. She was wearing an off-white dress with a chunky brown fashion belt wrapped around her middle. Her hair was down, as usual, but it was pin straight. None of them had seen her style her hair like this since before she had moved away.

"Hey," Hanna broke the silence.

"Oh, hey." Aria finally noticed them. "Are people here yet?" Her voice shook a little. They all shook their heads and took seats around the room. Hanna talked while everyone else listened. Emily didn't know if Hanna was just trying to keep the room filled with voices to drown out the sound of the doorbell ringing every now and then, but she was doing a good job. Aria nodded here and there but didn't seem to be listening to her best friend chatter on about the new pair of sunglasses she was thinking of buying. In fact, Aria didn't seem to be in the room with them at all. Her eyes were glazed over and she was staring off out her window.

The doorknob jiggled and Mike poked his head in.

"Mom wants us all downstairs," he said glumly. "Your teacher is about to get here."

"He isn't my teacher!" Aria snapped. Realizing the defensiveness in her voice, she added, "-anymore."

"Just get downstairs." Mike closed the door. They all walked downstairs after him. Emily led the way followed by Hanna who, though she wouldn't admit it, was excited to see what would happen tonight mostly because Hanna was one of those people who thought at the end of the day teachers desks turned into beds and they simply slept at the school until the students began arriving. Seeing teachers outside of school was exciting. Other than Ezra, it never happened. Spencer was right behind Hanna but she looked as nervous as Aria. She kept looking over her shoulder at her dark-haired best friend. Aria wouldn't have to pretend she was sick, Spencer thought. She looked as though she were going to vomit.

The room was filled with Rosewood teachers. Ella was chatting with a teacher Emily recognized from the math department. He was a frumpy old man with very little hair. What hair was there was a deep, pepper gray and his mustache stretched across his entire face. The doorbell rang and Ella, a huge grin on her face, went to answer it. Emily reached across to Aria and squeezed her hand.

Fitz looked as attractive as always. He was wearing a dark grey vest over a white shirt. His jeans, dark wash, hugged his legs. Ezra didn't look like a teacher. He looked, Emily thought hastily, like the perfect boyfriend for Aria Montgomery. Next to her, Aria let go of her hand. She was standing by herself and was looking straight at Ezra. Emily knew what Aria was doing. She was going to make damn sure that if Ezra looked around and saw her, he would think that she wasn't torn apart inside. Ezra did look over and see Aria. It was a quick look, but Emily was sure that if Ella hadn't ripped him away from the doorway it could have lasted a lifetime. He was being dragged to the food table and shown where the drinks were. He was thanking Ella for all she did. But Emily knew, and so did Hanna and Spencer, that Ezra was really looking back at Aria the entire time.

Aria bolted up the stairs and the girls heard her door close. Spencer took off after her.

"Love story gone wrong," Hanna muttered to Emily and Emily nodded both for Aria and Ezra and for herself and Maya. "Uh, Em?"

"What?"

"Isn't that Maya's new girlfriend?" Hanna knew all about Rebecca. Emily had gone to Hanna's after she left Alison's memorial. She had even gone so far as to point out Rebecca the next day at school. Emily whipped her head to where Hanna was pointing. Sure enough in the far corner laughing with the principal of Rosewood stood Rebecca, a cute red dress hugging her hips. Emily's heart sunk to the pit of her stomach. Was Maya here too?

"Why is she here?"

"And why is she talking to our principal?"

Ella walked over to them.

"Where did Aria go?" Hanna and Emily muttered something about not feeling well. Ella rolled her eyes and went to go upstairs, but the two girls stopped her.

"She'll be down in a minute," they promised.

"Have you guys met Rebecca?" she pointed to where Rebecca stood in the corner. The principal and Rebecca were still laughing and were now joined by two other teachers at the school. Her teeth were so white that Emily swore they were glittering. "Principal William's niece," Ella explained. "Her and her family just moved back to Rosewood. I told him to bring her along since you girls would be here. It would be nice for her to make some friends."

"I don't think she has a problem making friends," Hanna sniped. Emily jabbed Hanna in the side with her elbow.

"You girls should talk to her," said Ella, her eyebrows curving down. "It wouldn't hurt any of you to branch out a bit from your little group." She had walked away before they could say anything. Ezra was walking over to them now, his lips turned up into a little smile. Emily imagined him holding up a white flag and waving it in their faces. He barely opened his mouth to speak when he got to them. It wasn't a whisper, but he wasn't speaking at full volume either.

"Where is she?"

"Why should we tell you?" Hanna crossed her arms.

"I just want to talk to her," he said. "I didn't get a chance to. She wasn't in school."

"There was a reason for that." said Emily.

"I know," Ezra wiped a hand over his face. "Please. Could you just tell her I want to talk?" Just as Emily was about to say no, Hanna interrupted.

"We will."

He didn't say anything else. Ezra turned around and walked away, a fake smile on his face, and began conversing with a friend from the English department. Emily looked at Hanna with shock on her face.

"She deserves to know he wants to talk," Hanna said. "I was so angry at Mona for tearing up that letter. I'm not going to do the same thing to Aria that Mona did to me. Ezra talking to us was his letter." Hanna left Emily alone and went up the stairs to Aria's room. Emily knew that if she followed, Ella was bound to come barreling up the stairs in search of them. Carefully and as inconspicuously as possible, Emily grabbed a handful of chex mix and sat down on the couch. Eating and flipping through her phone, Emily was so distracted she didn't notice the weight of the cushion next to her dip down until Rebecca's voice penetrated her ear.

"Emily, right?"

Emily nearly dropped her phone.

"Yes." It came out a bit harsher than Emily wanted. She really had no reason to be mad at this girl. Emily broke up with Maya. But Rebecca, smiling, didn't seem to be phased at all that she just sat down next to her girlfriends serious ex-girlfriend.

"Bit of a drag," Rebecca nodded to the party and grabbed a stick of celery from the tray on the coffee table. "My uncle asked me to come."

"The principal,"

"Yes." she said simply. "My parents are out of town so I'm staying with him and my aunt." Rebecca pronounced aunt funny, Emily thought. Instead of _ant, _she said _unt. _It was annoying and Emily wondered if she had ever said that in front of Maya before. That is something that would drive Maya crazy. "I read about you in the paper."

"Pardon?"

"About your dead friend and her murderer," Rebecca said it so bluntly that Emily wasn't sure that she had heard it right. "And all your other friends."

"Oh." It was all Emily could say.

"My uncle was talking about it at dinner," she began peeling threads of celery from the tiny stalk. "I didn't realize it was you he was talking about until I saw the picture. You know, the one of you three in front of the church."

"Yeah, I remember."

"I saw you with your friends earlier." There was a pile of celery skin gathering in her lap. "Spencer was the one who was supposably attacked, right? She's the tall, skinny one with no boobs." Emily's mouth dropped. "And then Aria lives here, right? She's really pretty. Why doesn't she have a boyfriend? Is she the gay one? Wait no, that's you, right?"

"I-"

"-and then Hanna is the blonde. I've heard a lot about her,"

"Oh have you?" Emily's temper was rising.

"Shoplifts, right?"

"Once." she said defensively. "And-"

"-I heard it was more than once," Emily couldn't even get a word in. "Someone at school told me she had surgery so she wasn't fat anymore."

"-that isn't true-"

"-that's really sad. I would hate to be fat." Emily's head was spinning. _This _was the girl that Maya was dating? Emily couldn't even imagine the two being friends. Rebecca pulled a mirror from her purse and checked herself. Emily took the time to talk.

"You don't know anything." she said quickly, afraid of being interrupted. "Hanna doesn't shoplift and she didn't get any surgery. Spencer _was _attacked. If you or your stupid uncle bothered to keep up with current events Ian is now a suspect in Alison DiLaurentis' murder." Emily's voice was getting louder now but she didn't realize it. "I don't know what all Maya has been telling you about us but if you have a question or you want something confirmed don't go to my ex-girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend?" Rebecca stuffed the mirror back into her purse. "Wait, Maya is gay?"

"Wha-" Emily stuttered. "What do you mean mean _is Maya gay? _You're dating her."

"Look," Rebecca held up a hand. "I'm all for you lesbians and stuff. Do whatever you want. But I like guys,"

"Maya said you two were dating."

"We're not even friends." Rebecca stood and dropped the pile of celery skin onto a napkin. "I went over to her house because we had a scene for drama class. We were rehearsing lines."

"Something the matter, girls?" Emily looked up. People were staring now. Principal Williams had his hand on Rebecca's arm and was looking cautiously at Emily. Emily knew what he thought of them. They were all liars and troublemakers and all he did was gossip to his family about her, Hanna, Spencer and Aria.

"Nothing, sir." Emily said tersely. Rebecca flashed a smile. Fed up and confused, Emily turned around and went outside to sit on the porch where guests stares couldn't reach her.

* * *

><p>Aria finally came out of her room and went downstairs. She came down just in time to see the front door fly shut and the brief glimpse of Emily's raven colored hair. Hanna, nodding apologetically to Aria, went to find Emily leaving Spencer and Aria alone. The room was flooded with teachers and administration from their high school and it unnerved Aria to see them all congregated in one place especially considering for months she and Ezra carried on a full-fledged, hot and heavy, serious romance. Not too many teachers caught her eye, though. Most were too busy bunching on what Ella had laid out for appetizers. Taking the unseen opportunity, Spencer and Aria slipped into chairs in the quietest area of the house.<p>

"What's up with Em?" Aria asked, shoving a cherry tomato into her mouth. She was starving.

"You live with her," Spencer pointed out. "Shouldn't you know?" Guilt trickled down Aria's back. Aria hadn't asked Emily how she was at all since she and Ezra broke up. In fact, Aria can't remember hearing Emily talk much at all the past few days. Aria had been skipping meals and Emily spent most of her time reading or doing homework. "Look," Spencer nudged Aria's arm until she looked where she was pointing. Ezra was moving his way through the crowd. People seemed to stop noticing him now and were more involved with their own conversations. Ella, Aria noticed, was busy cooking in the kitchen. Too busy, she figured, to see her guest of honor slither his way across the room to her teenage daughter. Ezra smiled at Spencer and then looked at Aria. She refused to look him in the eye.

"Can we talk?"

"Here?" she said, aghast. "Now?"

"Yes," he insisted, looking at Ella in the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready soon. Your mom won't notice us."

"It's too risky." Aria said simply, standing up and pushing her chair back. "No." It pained her to stand and walk away, but Ezra and Spencer watched Aria leave for the kitchen to help her mom. He ruffled his hair.

"Give her time," Those were the only words of encouragement Spencer could muster up.

Twenty minutes later, the whole dinner party was gathered at a long table Byron had set up in the backyard for the occasion. Food was laid out across the table and voices were being lost in the spring breeze. Teachers had glasses of wine in front of them and the students, Emily, Aria, Spencer, Hanna and Rebecca, were sipping their juice and water rather meekly. Hanna especially looked disappointed that they did not also have wine in front of them. Ella tapped her glass with a knife and stood. She was seated at the far end of the table.

"I'd just like to thank everyone for coming," she said, smiling. "And I would like to thank Ezra for the time he put forward at Rosewood. I know the kids really loved you and you will be missed," Hanna had taken that moment to take a sip of her juice. She snorted into her drink but only Emily and Aria noticed. They both sent her dirty looks. "Ezra, if you would?" Awkwardly, Ezra stood holding his glass.

"Thank you, Ella." he said. Ella sat down and Ezra looked across the table at all the people. "I, uh, feel very fortunate that my first teaching job was at a school with such a wonderful group of colleagues. I think though that I'm even more thankful that my first teaching job was at a school with such wonderful students," Ezra looked over to where Aria was sitting. Though everyone else thought he was simply toasting the four students in his class, those four girls all knew he was really speaking to Aria. He looked away from her and went back to surveying the table. "I will miss the questions," he said. "The comments during reading," he paused and thought for a moment. "I'll miss the laughter and simplicity that comes with Rosewood." Ezra cleared his throat again. "I just hope that my students know that no matter where my career takes me, my door is always open." He dared a look at Aria. "And to my colleagues as well," he tipped his glass towards Ella. "I'll never forget my first students. They taught me more about life than college ever did."

He sat after that. The table clapped politely and smiled, not realizing his speech was more of a declaration of love to one of his students than anything else. Forks clanked and the talking began again. Aria excused herself from the table but no one took much notice except for the girls and Ezra. Ezra, who was being talked to by Ella, excused himself as well to use the bathroom.

Aria wasn't in the kitchen or the living room like he hoped. She didn't seem to be downstairs at all. With a tentative look behind him at the door wall leading to the backyard, Ezra noiselessly walked upstairs. He remembered where Aria's bedroom was from the last time he had been invited into the Montgomery household.

Her room was open. She was curled in her window seat completely oblivious to him staring at her. Ezra's eyes traced over her smooth, tanned legs and up to her face where her lips were turned into a frown. Bawling his hand into a fist, Ezra knocked on the door. Her eyes dropped when she saw it was him at the door but then, without any warning at all, Aria shot up and began striking him repeatedly in the chest.

"_Are,_" Punch. "_you," _Punch. "_an,_" Punch. _"idiot?"_ Smack.

"Hey!" he backed away from her.

"Anyone could have picked up on that speech,"

"They didn't." he said. "And they wouldn't have."

"It was dead obvious."

"To you and your friends, maybe."

"You're a complete idiot."

"You didn't wait."

"I waited for _four hours, _Ezra. How much longer did you expect me to sit in your apartment?" She closed her door shut so their voices couldn't travel downstairs. It was a precaution in case someone came inside to use the bathroom.

"So you leave a note and don't show up to school for two days?"

"Yes,"

"Aria-"

"Go to Hollis," she said. "Go and teach. Marry Jackie. Have little Jackie and Ezra's."

"I went to Hollis for _you,_" Ezra hissed. "So we could have a chance. I don't want to marry Jackie and I certainly don't want any little Jackie and Ezra's. You helped me get over Jackie. I'm not going to deny that. But I have fallen so inexplicably in love with you that the idea of loving anyone else isn't even fathomable. She is my past. I went to Hollis so you could be my future. I did this for us and now you're acting as though it is the reason for tearing us apart. I'm not your dad, Aria. I'm not going to cheat. I want you and only you. I'm not the problem here. You and your insecurities are what is tearing us apart,"

"Oh _really?_" Aria snapped. "Because I'm pretty sure I'm not the one with the ex-fiancee."

"Jesus, Aria!" he began pacing. "You're not going to be everyone's first love. I loved Jackie but I don't even know how to explain my love for you. Y-you're thrilling and intoxicating. You have a way with words that I only can dream about. When you're angry, you bottle it all inside until this point – this very point here – and it comes out and even though you probably just bruised my ribs I thought it was kind of cute. I _love _you, Aria and I don't want-" Aria crashed into Ezra. Her legs were wrapped around his middle and Ezra stumbled backwards against the wall. He was supporting her entire body but the way she was kissing him gave him more strength than he had ever had in his life. Her tiny hands were brushing through his hair. They had barely broken for air before their lips reattached. Around them, the sounds of the dinner party outside fell away. It was only Aria and Ezra.

Five minutes had passed. Ten minutes had passed. When Aria's feet finally slid back down onto the ground, she leaned her forehead against Ezra's. Their bodies were so close together than Aria was sure only one heart was beating.

"We should go back," she whispered, pulling away from him. He tugged her back and kissed her softly on the lips.

"We?" he kissed down her neck. "Are we a we?"

"I'll never stop hating her," Aria admitted, melting at his touch.

"I'm okay with that."

It took them another ten minutes to get downstairs.

**PLEASE READ THIS AUTHORS NOTE:**

**I'm trying to keep this story as close to the show as possible even though I have my own A planned and my own situations. After watching Tuesday's show, I wanted to make sure to include what happened to Aria in Spencer's house and her relationship with Ezra. I also wanted to introduce Jason into the story and explain where Maya's family went since the show randomly just moved them out without telling us that they moved. That really bothered me. So, I'm still making this story my own but I want to keep it as true to the show as I possibly can. That is why this chapter is mostly a filler and a re-do of this weeks episode. I changed it to fit the story, and I hope you aren't upset that the Aria scene with Ezra was redone. Honestly, I thought that was the worst scene they've shot for this entire series. This chapter also gave me a reason to bring the Maya and Emily situation back. **

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you don't like that I'm keeping it with the show, let me know in the comments and I'll read your suggestions. I want this story to be realistic and true to the show and I want the characters to be themselves. **

**I am really glad that you guys are enjoying the story so far. As I am working on a book of my own creation, I'm flip flopping between the two so I'll try and get these chapters up when I can. I'm hoping one a day. **

**POLL: (please leave in the reviews)**

**Where do you want this story to end?**

**A – When Maya and Emily reunite, leaving the story as a romance only.**

**B – When A is revealed and the mystery is solved.**

**C – After a set number of chapters (list how many you would like)**

**Also: **

**Are you guys interested in seeing more of Ezra and Aria? Which one of the girls would you like to see more of? What do YOU think should happen between Maya and Emily, seeing as Emily has a lot to risk IF she confronts Maya about lying?**

**Thanks guys! Another chapter either tonight or tomorrow!**

**OH WAIT. What do you guys read the story as? You know, full page, 1/2 or 3/4? I personally think that it looks best at 3/4 and I was just wondering what you guys thought. I'm actually really curious as to what settings people use to read on here. Let me know. :D**


	11. Burn, Baby, Burn

Aria's room was pitch black and both she and Emily laid in silence. It was midnight and Ella and Byron had finally cleaned up most of the dishes and trash from the party. There were a few stragglers lingering that were two drunk to drive themselves home. The girls found this funny, seeing as they were all their teachers. At one point Mr. Haught had climbed on the table and declared an unseeded love for pineapple. The girls took themselves upstairs after that, even Aria, who had to tear her eyes away from a laughing Ezra, deciding that seeing their teachers drunk and wild wasn't something on their to-do lists.

Hanna and Spencer were still awake but somewhere downstairs. Aria, too struck with love, wasn't adding much to a conversation and Emily was so deep in thought with her conversation with Rebecca that neither Spencer or Hanna could get through to her. Emily had been very mum about what had happened inside when Hanna visited her on the porch. Admitting defeat, the two non love diseased girls hid themselves away in the quietest corner of Aria's downstairs.

"So they made up," Hanna looked over to Aria's parents. They were still smiling but they both looked tired and worn. A couple of the sober teachers were gathering those too trashed to drive and leading them out the front door.

"Apparently." Spencer popped a raison in her mouth. "Judging by the goo goo eyes they kept sending each other from across the room."

"Have you had a chance to get to Melissa's phone?"

"No,"

"Spencer-"

"I know, it's important. She watches that phone like a dog watches a squirrel. If I went anywhere near it, she would claw me. I've offered to make calls for her and do work and everything but she won't budge. That phone is not going anywhere."

"Have you talked to Jason anymore?"

"About that," Spencer lowered her voice. "I'm getting a bad feeling about Jason. He's never been a great guy but he seems crazed, Han. Most of the day he spends ripping apart boards and digging holes in the backyard and I hear hammering and saws going all the time. What if he's looking for something?"

"Like what?"

"Alison was sneaky. Don't you remember her telling us that once she hides something, it isn't found until she _wants _it to be? What if Alison had something of Jason's and he bought the house back from Maya's parents because he realized that it was somewhere inside."

"Even if that were true," said Hanna. "What does that have to do with us? He probably just wants his porn magazine back,"

"No. He's desperate. You don't hear him tearing up that house everyday. It's like something in that house will prove who killed Alison. I've never seen him so determined."

"So he thinks he has proof?"

"Or he's trying to hide proof,"

"Why would he hide something that would prove who killed his sister?"

"Ian never liked Ali. What if Jason was the third person we were talking about?" Hanna looked as though she were about to protest and Spencer shoved a raison in her mouth. "No, really. I know we said there being a third person wasn't practical but Jason is acting really suspicious. Jason and Ian were friends and when I asked about Jason to Melissa she got really quiet and uncomfortable."

"So what," Hanna swallowed. "Jason helped Melissa and Ian kill Ali?"

"Jason and Ian were high that entire summer. Maybe he found Ali and Ian together and got really pissed. He was high. Ian yells at Ali. Melissa shows up and starts yelling at his sister too. They all get into a fight and someone kills Ali. They don't realize who. I mean, if they're all high and struggling they're not going to know who threw the final blow."

"I don't know, Spence. That seems pretty far fetched. Why would Jason come back now, then? Why not stay away? All eyes are on Ian."

"For the same reason that Ian didn't stay away. Melissa."

"Oh come _on_,"

"It's not the most absurd theory we've come up with."

"No, but it's close."

"Maybe him and Melissa had a thing going," Spencer shrugged. "Or maybe he just really cares about Melissa. Jason is guilty of _something, _though. I can feel it."

"We all felt Toby was guilty of something too, Spencer."

PLL

On Sunday, Emily was the first one awake. She pulled on jeans and a t-shirt that she found on the floor. Not caring if it was hers or Aria's, Emily ran downstairs and out the door before anyone could tell that she had woken up. She bypassed her car and chose to walk instead.

It was only a five minute walk to Maya's. It might have been ten, but Emily wasn't going slow. She didn't care that it was only eight o'clock in the morning, either. Emily didn't hesitate as she pounded on the door with her fist. She could hear shuffling inside and a light flicked on. Emily's stomach was in knots as the door slowly opened just a crack so the person on the other side could see who was at the door. Seeing it was Emily, Maya swung the door open all the way. She was still in her dark green pajama bottoms and a tank top that showed her belly button. Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Maya waved Emily in.

"You look pissed," she said tiredly.

"Damn right I'm pissed." Emily spat. "Rebecca?"

"What about her?"

"You lied!"

"Oh." Maya just shrugged and plopped down on the couch. This house was much different than their previous one. There were still boxes all over and the walls were such a putrid orange color that Emily contemplated asking to change rooms just to avoid it. There were unopened cans of pant lined against the wall and paintbrushes stacked on boxes. Most of the furniture was covered in plastic wrap. The couch that Maya sat down on was crunching and crinkling from the paper that was protecting the fabric.

"Why would you lie?"

"Why would you care?"

"Don't," Emily warned. "Don't even for a second pretend that I don't care about you. Don't for a second try and tell me that I shouldn't care." Maya was still rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"Emily, you lost the right to care when you publicly broke up with me the day after we slept together."

"There are reasons."

"Which you refuse to tell me,"

"Because I don't want you to get hurt!"

Maya lost it. She stood up, her arms flailed out to her sides, and her voice rose so loud that Emily was sure even the neighbors were awake now.

"I'm already _hurt, _Em. What more can you do to me?" Emily frowned, not having anything to say. "I could have stayed, you know. Where I was. I could have stayed. I made friends there and there was a girl I got along with really well. She liked me, too. But I came back for you. I did _nothing _with her because I was still so in love with you. I waited for you. Did you wait for me?" Emily stayed silent. "Yeah. I figured. Who was she?" Awkwardly, Emily shuffled her feet.

"Her name was Paige." mumbled Emily. "She was on the swim team with me."

"Did you love her?"

"No," she said quickly. "No, it wasn't like that. Paige was struggling with being gay and she kissed me one night. We went on one or two dates, but it wasn't anything serious. She was too in the closet."

"Anyone else?"

"Not really."

"Not really?"

"A girl named Samara," Emily could feel the heat rising from her cheeks. "We went on one date. I met her when Paige wanted to meet with a group that helped gay teens."

"Did you love _her?_" Maya asked accusingly.

"We went on one date, Maya."

"So did we."

The girls were silent. Emily sat next to Maya on the couch. She had never thought much of dating other girls when Maya was away. She missed her but Emily assumed that they had broken up. Maya never returned her calls and when they spoke it was brief and awkward. Emily jumped when Maya's hand snaked into her own. Her fingers clasped tightly down on Emily's hand. Emily looked up at Maya, their brown eyes so very similar and so very different all at the same time staring into one another. Maya pressed her lips to Emily's smooth hand.

"I love you." she whispered. Emily's stomach flipped. "I said I could handle whatever secrets you were keeping and I meant it. But I thought you meant what you said, too. You said it wouldn't tear us apart and you're doing exactly that." Sighing and pulling her hand away from Emily's, Maya stood up. "I told you that I was dating Rebecca because in that moment I wanted to see if you cared. It was stupid and mean. I'm sorry. But I can't do this, Emily. I can't keep seeing you every day and knowing that you chose this for us despite everything we went through."

"Maya,"

"I'm thinking of spending some time with my aunt in New York." she said. "She lives alone and likes company. There is a music school that I was accepted to a few months ago. It's really nice," Emily could feel her heart beating so fast that she was sure it would rip from her chest. "I'll probably finish out at Rosewood. It would be stupid to leave right now. There are only a few months left."

"Don't leave."

"There isn't anything left for me here." Maya smiled, but Emily saw how tight and forced it was. "I'm not going to stick around and wait for someone who has no idea what she wants."

"I want you."

"No," Maya took Emily's hand again and kissed her cheek. Emily, shaking, wrapped her arm around Maya's stomach and pulled her in. Maya didn't struggle. The girls hugged, each of them secretly trying to remember how the feel of the others body meshes into their own. When they pulled apart, Maya looked at Emily seriously. "You can change it, you know. Just tell me what you think you can't."

Emily turned away and stepped out the front door, only pausing long enough to make sure her shoes were on properly, and she ran the entire way back to Aria's house.

* * *

><p>Now that the girls were allowed to be seen together again, Hanna didn't want it. Given any other day, she would have been dying to be close to them and talk. But not today. Hanna was on a mission and as she scoured the cafeteria for person she most wanted to talk to, she had to duck behind a large pillar to avoid Aria's looking eyes. Sliding out a door and pushing past a crowd of overly excited freshmen, Hanna passed down the hallway and peeked into different classrooms. Lunch at Rosewood was split into three different sessions and Hanna wasn't sure which lunch Maya had. There had only been a handful of times that Hanna had seen Emily and Maya together at lunch and Hanna was quite sure that Maya had been skipping whatever class she was supposed to be in to spend time with Emily.<p>

It was the slamming of a door somewhere down the hall that made Hanna turn around. Maya was standing not too far down the hallway at a locker. She was flipping through books and digging through her backpack looking for something. Before she could get away, Hanna ran forward.

"Hi," she said breathlessly.

"Oh," Surprised, Maya dropped her bag. "Hi."

"Look I know you probably don't want to be here talking to me." Hanna picked up Maya's dropped bag and handed it to her. Maya looked at Hanna nervously and stuffed the bag into her locker. "But if you could just hear me out?"

"If this is about Emily-"

"-it is. But I promise I'll be quick."

"Fine."

"Emily loves you," Hanna pushed out. "I've known Emily for four years and I've never seen her so in love with someone in my life. I mean, I didn't realize she was a lesbian and I didn't realize she was in love with Ali when she was but looking back I totally see it. Anyway, she _loves _you Maya. She is struggling with a lot right now and I know you don't understand it but can you please just trust me?"

"It's not a matter of trusting you. I know Emily is going through a lot. But the fact is, she put it on our relationship."

"Because it affects your relationship. She's protecting you."

"I don't need protection."

"But Emily needs to protect you."

"From what? From who?"

Hanna thought for a moment. A, of course. But ultimately Hanna was confident that Emily was more concerned with protecting Maya from herself. Emily was blacklisted, essentially. A drew a target on her back and had Emily in constant eye. All of the girls were dangerous and to no fault of their own.

"From herself," Hanna didn't delve further. "Don't give up on her." Hanna stuffed her hand in her pocket and produced a thin envelope. There was no writing on the front but the pack flap was sealed shut. "Take this." She felt as though she was always whispering, but Hanna lowered her voice and looked around. "Go into a bathroom stall and read it. When you've memorized everything on the page, I want you to take this," Hanna handed Maya a tiny lighter. "Go outside and burn it until there is nothing left. Make sure you follow everything I wrote. The rules, everything."

"Is this a joke?" Maya cocked an eyebrow.

"Not at all. Make sure no one sees you burning it, either."

"This is ridiculous." she slammed her locker shut and pushed the envelope back at Hanna. "And I feel like it's illegal, too. I have enough marks against me, thanks."

"Fine, don't burn it. Maybe that was dramatic. Just destroy it. Rip it into a million little pieces until there is no way _anyone _can put it back together. Just please," Hanna handed it back to Maya, this time less forcefully. Maya looked at it. "Take it." Hanna shook the letter in her hand. Biting her lip, Maya slowly pulled it from Hanna's fingers. She didn't look at Hanna again. Maya walked away.

Hanna walked back into the cafeteria praying that Maya followed every single rule she put in the letter.

**Short chapter today. I just don't have it in me to keep going. Next chapter will be pretty long, I'm just feeling a little depressed today and I don't think I can crank out a good enough chapter for you guys. **

**Check out the one-shot I put up last night revolving around Hanna's issues. It's on my profile and it is called "Broken Promises". It's a bit of a debbie downer but it was how I was feeling last night. **

**It's only one chapter and will stay that way. Let me know what you think. **

**-Lis**


	12. Risk It All

**Guys... get excited. **

Rosewood was exceptionally quiet the morning Hanna woke up. Maybe she was never awake this early and she never noticed how quiet and lull the town was, but it astounded her. Being sure to not wake her mom, Hanna pulled on an old pair of jean shorts and a top that a few months ago she had stolen from a store with Mona. It seemed odd to wear it. Criminal, almost. But the truth was Hanna hadn't had the energy recently to do any laundry and the shirt was her last resort. Fashionable Hanna was thrown out the window this morning and with it all notions of sanity.

Eating was her _real _therapy, Hanna thought sadly as she pulled down a container of cereal. It was true. For her entire life, every emotion she ever had bottled up inside was squashed by the digested remnants of her meals. A few years ago, her meals were not just meals – they were binges. Feasts, you could say. And despite the bulimia, hard core dieting and obnoxiously long workout routines, Hanna only kicked the weight, not the habit. There were still days that she came home from school to an empty house and ordered food for just herself. She would justify it by saying that what was left could be leftovers for dinner, but by the time the movie ended on the television the food would be gone and Hanna would be left with overwhelming guilt and the urge to purge. It didn't happen often, but it was enough to make Hanna uncomfortable with herself.

The cereal was eaten and the bowl was rinsed just as the sun was rising over sleeping Rosewood. Hanna scribbled a note to her mom that she was going out hiking with the girls and wouldn't have cell phone reception. After a quick jaunt upstairs to hide her phone under her mattress and to make sure that everything she normally had with her was stashed somewhere safe, Hanna left the house on foot.

Hanna could smell the wet dewy grass. It was a beautiful smell. So fresh, so clean. It was the smell of nature. It wouldn't take her long to walk to Aria's so Hanna took her time. Her hands were stuffed in her pocket and she looked around. Rosewood seemed like a more beautiful place when no one was awake. It didn't seem as ominous nor as threatening. For a few moments, Hanna felt as though A couldn't touch her. A didn't exist, really. How could someone so sinister, so devilish, so disgustingly dirty be out there when the baby birds were fluttering above Hanna's head so blissfully happy that they had learned to fly? When the grass was undisturbed by running children or romping dogs? The sky was so blue that morning that it almost appeared to be a different color entirely. There were no fluffy clouds; only wisps of pure white, like the flurries of a first, sparkling snow.

Her eyes narrowed as she turned the corner. Ali's memorial was not too far ahead. It seemed very undisturbed. But not too far ahead of it, in all his sulking glory, Caleb was strutting down the sidewalk completely unaware that Hanna, whose virginity and heart Caleb had taken, was walking straight towards him. She tried to duck, to hide in the arch way of a closed up shop, but Hanna was amazingly clumsy for someone of such stylish grace. Hanna tripped and skinned her knees on the harsh, gravely pavement. Her sharp intake of breath and the sound of skin slidding over cement made Caleb look up; he saw Hanna on the ground and, not running but not walking, came over to where she was already picking herself up and dusting herself off. Her knees were bleeding little pebbles of blood. Rosewood didn't seem so beautiful anymore.

"Are you alright?" he asked, swiping his hair backwards.

"Fine," Hanna grunted.

"You're bleeding," Caleb pointed down to Hanna's knees. "That's not exactly fine. Here, I have some bandaids and I think anti-septic-" He began reaching in his bag and pulling stuff out onto the pavement. Hanna was glad that it was so early in the morning. The site of Caleb crouched down on the ground pulling out random odds and ends from his bag was quite the site; there was a pocket knife that looked alarmingly large and old clothes that smelled a bit musty. He dumped several books on the sidewalk. Hanna noticed that none of them were school books. They were all reading books.

"Look, it's fine. Really. I'll clean up at Aria's." Hanna tried and pushed past him but her knees were still tender and it slowed her down. He grabbed her hand. They stared for a moment. It wasn't like those looks on television where the two estranged lovers stared into each others eyes with untapped passion. Hanna, her face cold and stone-like, was staring at Caleb's quirky grin and soft eyes. He didn't look down. Caleb kept staring at Hanna as he reached down into his bag. She could hear a couple things rustle and then, still looking at her, he held up a bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a few bandaids.

"Got it."

Admitting defeat and knowing she would get to Aria's faster if she complied with Caleb wanting to fix her, Hanna slumped down with her back pressed up against the cold brick of the shop behind her. He knelt down too and sloshed some hydrogen peroxide into the cap and let it pour onto Hanna's leg wound. It bubbled and the bleeding slowed. The band aid he had was quite large and covered almost her entire knee cap. It was going to make it awkward to walk.

"Got any hello kitty bandaids or something?" Hanna joked, poking at the plain beige bandaid. "Not the most fashionable."

"Sorry, Ms. Marin." Caleb wiped his hands on his jeans and stood up, pulling her up with him at the same time. "That's all I got in inventory."

"Well," Hanna bit her lip. "Let me at least repay you. Or buy you some more bandaids, or something."

"I'm a pro bono kind of doctor."

They were quiet for a minute. Hanna had been so eager to leave just moments before but now she found herself not wanting to leave.

"So are you living on the streets again?" Hanna asked as Caleb knelt down and began stuffing all his items back into his bag. She wondered how it all fit.

"Here and there," Caleb shrugged. "Been crashing on a friends couch."

"_Who?_" Hanna blushed when she realized how surprised the word came out of her mouth. But Hanna had to admit that she had never seen Caleb associate with many people before. She just assumed Caleb was a loner and liked it that way. Hanna even liked to think that she was the first person to have broken past Caleb's social boundaries.

"Lucas."

Utterly confused, Hanna stuttered before being able to form a sentence.

"_Lucas? _Like, m-my Lucas?"

"Well I didn't know you owned him," he said a bit snobbish. "But yes, the same Lucas. He's the one that brought me back to Rosewood in the first place. To see you, of course. But I've just been sticking around. Not like I'm going to find my mom,"

"He..." Hanna didn't understand what Caleb was saying. "Wait, Lucas brought you back here?"

"He really cares about you."

"He shouldn't," she mumbled, stuffing her arms under each other. "I was horrible to him."

"Apparently," Caleb shoved the last of his items into the bag and zipped it up. "Lucas believes in second chances. That's something you should look into."

"You were _spying _on me-" Hanna said hotly.

"And I stopped. As soon as I realized what was happening between us I told Jenna it was over. Come on, Hanna. Can you give me points for anything?"

"So you're telling me that if nothing had happened between us you would still be living at my house sending my information to Jenna?"

"I didn't know you then."

"But if you never go to know me,"

"Then maybe."

"So what was I to you before? A meal ticket? Just some stupid blonde who you could take advantage of?"

"Come on, Hanna. That's not fair."

"Just tell me."

"You were a bitch," he said bluntly. "You and Mona walked around Rosewood every day putting other people down and acting like you were some freaking Rosewood royalty or something. So yeah, Hanna. I didn't _care _when Jenna asked me to get to know you and spy on you. I figured it was some rich girl cat fight and I got paid for having a roof over my head where I wasn't getting hit and an occasional hot meal. So I'm _sorry _that I assumed you were exactly who you acted like you were."

"I never wanted to be that person."

"You're not that person." he took her hand. "Not anymore. Maybe you were then, or maybe you were just pretending to be someone you aren't because you wanted whatever Mona had to offer. Which, by the way, is nothing." Hanna snorted. "The longer I stayed at your house the more I realized that you were exactly the kind of girl that I liked. Smart, funny, a pain in the ass."

"Hey-"

"-don't deny it. I want this. I'm in this. If you can trust me, please give this a chance. We had something here."

"You're such a girl," Hanna poked his chest. "You know that, right?"

"I'll be whatever you want." He thought over what he said and shook his head. "Within reason."

"I can't trust you right away." Hanna squeezed his hand and smiled. "But I want to trust you, and I think that's the first step." The two moved closer and Caleb brushed a blonde tendril of hair from Hanna's perky blue-green eyes. He stepped into the kiss. Hanna pulled away first. It was quick and innocent and they both settled for that. "And if you need a place to stay,"

"I think I'll stay at Lucas'." he said quickly. "For a while, at least. I don't think your mom is my biggest fan."

"She's been rooting for you,"

"Want to go get breakfast?" Hanna tugged herself away from his arms.

"Can't," she pulled at his wrist to look at the watch around it and sighed when she realized she was already a full ten minutes behind schedule. Emily isn't easy to wake up in the morning. It's damn near impossible. "I have to be at Aria's. I should already be at Aria's, actually."

"I'll text you."

"I don't have my phone with me right now." she frowned. "I'll call you tonight."

"It's a deal."

The sun seemed to shine a little brighter as Hanna found her way to Aria's.

* * *

><p>Byron was walking out the front door, presumably on his way to work, when Hanna began walking up the Montgomery driveway. He paused and held the door open for her, smiling.<p>

"You're here early," he said brightly. "I don't think the girls are awake."

"They will be!" Hanna flashed a smile.

"What are your plans?"

"We're going hiking," she said simply. Byron frowned and scratched his head.

"Do they know that?"

"If they did, they probably would be hiding not sleeping." Byron laughed and nodded. "We'll probably be out of cell phone service so if you try calling Aria's phone and she doesn't answer, that's why." Hanna turned and ran up the stairs before Byron had a chance to answer. She flung open the door and flicked the light on. Aria and Emily were still two motionless lumps on the bed. Hanna went to the window and yanked the curtains up as loudly and quickly as possible. Still, the two best friends slept soundlessly. With a mild run and a great leap, Hanna flung herself onto the mattress at their feet and began jumping up and down on her knees. Emily shot up first, a stream of expletives pouring from her mouth, and Aria groggily sat up next not having the energy to say anything.

"Good morning!" Hanna flopped down in the middle of them and smiled, wrapping her arms around each of their shoulders. "Don't make me start singing."

"Did someone dose you?" Aria pressed a hand to her forehead. "Too early," groaning, she snuggled back into her covers.

"What time is it?" Emily mumbled, trying to crawl over two bodies to reach her phone. When she saw that it was only 5:30, her head turned to Hanna's with the most incredulous look. "Are you _insane? It's saturday." _

"You're not my friend anymore," Aria whined.

"Come _on,_" with a great heave, Hanna yanked Emily upright in bed and tugged at her arm. "Let's make you pretty."

"You want to do makeovers at five thirty in the morning?" Without much of a choice, Emily crawled on top of Aria and over the side of the bed. Aria groaned and dug herself under the covers more but she couldn't escape the blinding morning sunlight that was streaming into her bedroom. Finally, she rose and let her feet dangle from the bed. Aria just watched as Hanna pushed Emily down into a seat and began playing with her long dark brown hair. Hanna tugged and pulled while Emily winced and yawned. Relieved to find that Emily had showered the night before and they wouldn't lose time for that, she pulled out the curling iron and began styling Emily's hair accordingly.

"I can do this myself," Emily snapped. Hanna frowned.

"I want to do it."

By the time Hanna had finished, Aria had already gone downstairs and snagged a bowl of cereal. It was six o'clock now and, with soft curls framing her face, Emily wasn't in any better of a mood than she had been when Hanna arrived. She snatched the bowl of cereal from Aria's hands and took a bite. Aria just shrugged and fell backwards, perfectly content with laying on her bed for several hours longer. Hanna was rummaging through the closet Aria and Emily now shared and finally settled on a cropped top that was unmistakeably Emily's style. Fat light grey and off white stripes ran across with a weathered pattern to it. Love was written across the chest with small, not too flashy sequins. Hanna threw the shirt at Emily along with a black mesh tank top to go underneath.

"Jeans," Hanna insisted. "Dark ones. Let's go with skinny."

"Hanna, you're an idiot." Emily said, tossing the shirt to the side. "Why are you dressing me? I'm not a life sized barbie."

"Yeah besides," Aria chimed in. "If you're going to dress us, at least have the decency to let us use _your _closet." Emily smiled, but Hanna wasn't phased. She was already digging through drawers trying to find a pair of skinny jeans that Emily could wear.

"My closet isn't your style,"

"I haven't worn this shirt in a year." Emily said.

"But it's very you."

"Whatever," Emily yanked off her top and pulled the tank top on instead. She let the loose knit crop top fall over her and waited until Hanna was sure she found the perfect pair of jeans to go with it. When she did, Emily changed quickly, not wanting to wait too long in case Hanna changed her mind and wanted her to change again. Aria went back to eating her cereal.

"I don't know _what _you're doing," Hanna said to Aria. She took the bowl away and pushed her at her closet. "Get dressed, we have to go."

"Why couldn't you go torture Spencer?" Aria yanked a shirt off of a hanger, not caring if it was hers or Emily's.

"Spencer is on Melissa duty today." replied Hanna. Aria changed quickly and took one last bite from the cereal bowl. Hanna took both their hands and tugged them out of the room.

"Wait, my phone-"

"No." Hanna snapped.

"Oh Hanna," Emily suddenly realized what they were doing. "Not again. No, A didn't like it."

"Are we really going to let this bitch control us?" Emily and Aria looked at each other. Yes seemed like a suitable answer. Hanna nudged both of them. "Come on. If we're going to play A's game, let's at least play to win."

"The problem is," Emily chided. "A knows the rules."

* * *

><p>Elmhold didn't look nearly as dingy and depressing as it had the first time the girls came. The bus station, to no surprise, <em>was <em>just as dirty and run down as before, but without the grey clouds and drizzling rain Elmhold had just as much of a rustic, old fashioned beauty that Rosewood did. It was still early, but more people were on the streets than before. A French-themed cafe sat on the corner with an iron fence that wrapped around its outside seating area. There was a red canopy that fell overtop, but the fresh morning sun still reached its patrons. A family of four sat at the nearest table to the street. A little girl, no older than eight, played dully with the remnants of a bagel and her little brother stirred his straw in his orange juice glass. The parents paid no attention, the dad too drawn to his sports section and the mom texting while shoveling spoonfuls of egg into her mouth.

Next to the cafe was a bookstore that caught Aria's eye. The sidewalk in front of it was dark red cobblestone, which gave it an old-century feel. The brick matched the colors in the stone and a rusting, tattered awning stretched at its entrance. The windows had stylish gold cursive writing stretching across the entire length with the name of the bookstore. Underneath in much smaller, fine print was hours of operation. Aria peaked inside the windows. Though it was dark, the girls could see rows and rows of aged, musty books.

The diner the girls had gone to the previous trip was much busier than before with town regulars. Waitresses slid between tables with steaming hot plates of eggs, sausages, bacon, toast and trays of coffee, orange juice and milk. A grumpy middle aged man in a plaid shirt and a backwards baseball cap was poking at his omelet with a dissatisfied look on his face. Aria, Hanna and Emily sat themselves in a booth at the farthest, most empty corner of the diner and waited for a waitress to come wandering by. She was slim with dark red hair and a permanently cocked eyebrow that screamed, "_what _do you want?" Much like their waitress before, she was popping her gum. Hanna grimaced at the bright red lipstick that clashed miserably with the pink uniform. After being served their coffee and bagels, Hanna delved into why she brought them there.

"We need to talk."

"Really?" Emily quipped sardonically. "I though this was a field trip." she ripped a piece of bagel off and plopped it in her mouth.

"I think you should tell Maya about A."

Aria's eyes flashed to Emily before she dared to look at Hanna. Emily was the more homely of the group and as such was far more reasonable to suggestions, but Aria was sure that this one in particular would not get very far. Hanna knew this as well. Emily had been on edge as of late, so her normal nice, easy going attitude was stretched as thin as it was going to get. Emily put the bagel back down on the plate and, in the lowest most deadly voice Aria or Hanna had ever heard come from Emily's lips, she spoke directly into Hanna's eyes.

"That," she hissed. "is the _stupidest,_" she stomped her foot beneath the table. "idea I have ever heard come out of your mouth."

"Please listen," Hanna begged. "Toby knows. Ezra knows. Nothing bad happened to either one of them. Maya deserves to know the truth."

"That's true," Aria looked at Emily. "I did tell Ezra. You _told _me to tell Ezra, in fact."

"You didn't have a sex tape," Emily whispered violently. "Your entire reputations weren't on the line."

"I'm dating my teacher," said Aria in a bored, matter-of-fact type of voice. "Or, was. I had everything to lose and so did he. Maybe it wasn't a sex tape but if word had gotten out that Ezra and I were in a relationship he would be in jail right now and god knows what my parents would do to me." Hanna smiled at Aria, making a mental note to thank her later.

"A is bullying us and taking control of every aspect of our lives. She tried getting me to out Aria and Ezra. She's forced you and Maya to break up. Look at Spencer's life right now, honestly. It's a mess. We can't even go to a therapist without her sending us subliminal messages. We need to start fighting back." Aria looked at Hanna uneasily now.

"About this whole _fighting back,_" she began. "It's one thing for Emily to tell Maya the truth but I don't think we should go out of our way to piss A off. We just got off looking like suspects in Ali's death. Do we really want to go putting ourselves in that position again?"

"Let's look at what A has on us." Hanna pushed her bagel away, not hungry. "A already spread a lie about me getting surgery to lose the weight. That wasn't even _true _and she, he, it, whatever said it. A could tell that I was bulimic," Emily looked up, shocked. That had been Aria and Hanna's secret. "Or that my mom stole money from her job." Both Aria and Emily pushed their own bagels away. "Spencer kissed a bunch of boys. Emily is already out of the closet. What else does A have on her other than the sex tape? We all know that you were in love with Ali. That's not a big secret anymore," Emily, clearly uneasy about the topic, blushed. "Ezra and Aria's relationship isn't illegal anymore, it's just weird. Sorry, Aria." Aria shrugged. "My mom already got rid of the money and there isn't any proof that she ever took it to begin with. If people find out that I tossed my meals every day it's not going to do anyone any harm. I don't do it anymore. My mom will probably want to talk but whatever. Aria and Ezra stayed in his apartment for months and were never seen together so it's not like there is _any _proof of a relationship before now. Emily, the sex tape is bad, even I'll admit that. But if A actually releases it, she'll have no leverage over you anymore. It'll be over."

"So what you're saying is," Aria looked at Hanna dead in the eye. "We get A to fire all her ammunition and don't give her anything to reload with."

"If the worst is already out," Hanna settled. "What else can A do?"

They all took to sipping their coffee and picking at their bagels. The waitress came over a few times with refills and they all accepted them even if they weren't willing to drink it all. Emily's coffee was getting considerably colder as she had taken to staring mindlessly out the window at the increasing street traffic. Aria was playing with her bagel much like the little girl they had seen at the cafe down the road. Hanna kept glancing at the clock nervously. It was only eight and Hanna felt like she had never gone to bed. Tiredly, she rubbed her eyes and cleared her throat so the girls would come back out of whatever world they escaped to briefly.

"I really think telling Maya is the right decision." she said simply. Emily looked down at her cold coffee and nudged it with her finger so the stillness of the surface was disrupted. "You love her, Em. I can see it. We all can," Aria nodded.

"I think it's too late." Emily said honestly.

"It's not," Hanna glanced at the clock again. "It's only eight o'clock."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Because Maya will be arriving at eight thirty."

* * *

><p>Emily was a jumble of nerves. She immediately regretted drinking any coffee. Aria and Hanna had left her by herself to wait outside of the Elmhold bus station. Emily watched as Aria and Hanna, arm in arm, entered the bookstore that they all knew Aria had been patiently waiting to suggest looking at.<p>

Every bus that came into the station gave Emily a hard jolt in her stomach. When people got off and not a single one was Maya, Emily began to grow nervous. Maya easily could have ignored Hanna's note, the note Hanna refused to disclose what it said, and Emily would be stuck sitting here like an idiot until Aria and Hanna came back and realized that things really were over between Emily and Maya. As good intentioned as Hanna was, Emily found herself slightly resentful. The entire situation was so screwed up, in large because of Emily's way of handling things, that she didn't see a bright ending. Another bus rolled in and emptied its passengers. Emily turned away when the last person, a young, tall gentlemen with wavy blonde hair and sandy skin, walked out past her without a glance. Admitting defeat when the clock turned to 8:45, Emily slunk down into an outside bench and waited impatiently for Aria and Hanna to reappear.

It's not as though Emily was expecting much. If she was in Maya's shoes, Emily wasn't sure if she would come either. It was a bad habit that Emily had begun shortly after her talk with Maya. Most days in between scribbling down homework and worrying about A, Emily would console herself by putting herself in Maya's shoes and recognizing that if she were in her position, Emily would do the exact same thing. Walk away. Run away, maybe. Don't look back.

Emily wasn't going to sit on the bench looking like a fool any longer. The idea that Maya was coming had momentarily thrilled her, but she had to be realistic; their relationship was over and Emily had hammered in the final nail of their coffin. They couldn't even be friends, Emily thought miserably to herself. The idea of going through the social niceties with Maya just to be nice was nauseating. Emily ruined what they had and she had to accept the consequences with it.

Her feet brought her in front of the same cafe that the girls had passed earlier. It was just as quaint inside as it was out. It being an early saturday morning, most of the patrons were families or business men and woman looking for a quick coffee fix before going to work. Emily bought a water bottle hoping the cold liquid would calm her disappointed stomach. She didn't stay, either. Emily walked back out and wandered the streets looking as dismal and hopeless, she imagined, as the gentlemen waiting at the city bus stop. His face was hallow and crestfallen, hair matted and uncombed, and though Emily wasn't close enough, she imagined he smelled vaguely of rum and cigarettes. He was dressed nice, though. Emily wondered if he were on his way to a job interview.

She waited for red light and the crossed the street. The girls would naturally look for her at the bus station and if they didn't see her there, Emily was sure they would assume Maya had come and they had gone somewhere to talk. Emily didn't want to be stuck in Elmhold any longer than she had to be. Without a phone to let Aria and Hanna know, and not wanting to go into the bookstore and risk having to talk with other people, Emily was left with waiting impatiently at the bench and hope for the best. As she rounded the corner and the station came back into vision, Emily sighed. Someone was sitting on her bench.

"Guess I'll just stand," Emily shrugged and took a look around. The closer she got, the more familiar the person in her seat became. Her skin was a light, milk chocolate and hair fell just past her shoulders in tight ringed curls. Maya was sitting there, her legs crossed and her foot tapping against her own leg. Emily walked faster and faster until she was standing just to the right of Maya. Maya looked up, both unsurprised and disinterested.

"Why does Hanna keep bringing me here?" she asked dully.

"Probably for the same reason that you keep coming," Emily said hopefully. "Can we talk?"

"I feel like that's all we've been doing."

"No," Emily sucked in a breath. "For real." Skeptically, Maya stood and looked around. Her eyes landed on the little cafe.

"Fine. I'm thirsty anyway,"

Maya ordered a coffee and the two settled at an outdoor table. Emily liked this cafe far more than she liked the diner; there were no snippy waitresses, only overworked baristas with fake smiles plastered over their face. "Thanks for coming," said Emily awkwardly. She played with the water bottle that was still laced in her hands. Maya didn't say anything. She blew cool air into her coffee and took a long sip. Emily's coffee from earlier was gurgling nervously in her stomach. She felt like her whole body was about to revolt. "I wanted to talk to you about why we broke up,"

"You were _protecting me _is what I remember you saying."

"That's true," Emily pressed. "But Hanna and Aria made me realize that the more I try to protect you the more I'm letting A tear me down."

"A what?"

"Not a thing," she said. "A as in a person."

"You're letting a person bring you down?"

"Well, yes." Getting frustrated now, Emily let go of her water bottle. "But A is a name. Like, the letter. It's a name. A. That's the person. A."

"Are B and C her trusty sidekicks?" Maya sniggered.

"_No,_" Emily was beginning to get annoyed. "If you'd let me finish-"

"Okay, sorry." she looked amused. "Go on."

"You know about Ali," Maya nodded. "Ali was kind of our leader. I know it sounds stupid," Emily saw the look on Maya's face as she said the word 'leader'. "But she really was. She brought us together as a group. We wouldn't be friends if it weren't for Ali." Emily took a second to think. "To be honest, looking back, none of us were really friends with each other. We were only friends with Ali and Ali liked us strung along like her puppies. It sounds horrible. Maybe it is. That's just how it was. We told Ali everything. She knew _all _of our secrets," she bit her lip, carefully thinking about how to word what she was telling Maya without spilling any of the other girls secrets. "Ali had a way of manipulating each and every one of us to tell her what we didn't want to tell. Sometimes, it was freeing. Other times Ali used our secrets against us. She never told, though. Not ever."

Across the street, Emily saw Aria and Hanna looking through shop windows. Hanna glanced over and saw the two of them sitting at the cafe and waved. Emily's hand felt like lead, though, and she didn't wave back. She only smiled.

"When Ali died, our secrets died with her. We thought they did, at least." Emily thought back to the very first A text she ever received. Just thinking about it sent her heart into a wild frenzy of thumps against her chest. "When Aria came back, we all started getting these messages. Some were texts but the first one I got was a note in my locker. We didn't know we were _all _getting them. Aria and I were the first ones to talk about it. Mine said," Emily closed her eyes and remembered the feeling of unfolding the paper. "Hey Em, I've been replaced. You've found another friend to kiss. It was signed A. Ali was the _only _person I ever told about being gay. It was signed A. I thought it was Alison,"

"The night they found her body," Maya said. "You looked so destroyed when I told you she was dead. You thought she was alive because of the texts, didn't you?"

"I did."

"And the other girls were getting messages too?"

"A had all of our secrets. Everything we told Ali and then some. After a while, A wasn't just harassing us with what we shared with Ali. A is following us every second of every day. A knows everything. What we do, where we go. I bet Hanna told you to keep your phone at home." Maya nodded. "We got smart. A must have all of our stuff tracked. Our phones, our cars. Everything. We think there might even be cameras in some places."

"Go to the cops," Maya spat furiously. "Are you stupid? This is illegal."

"Calm down."

"Emily-"

"Listen." pleaded Emily. "Some of the secrets are damaging. More damaging than you can possibly imagine. You know Jenna Marshall, right?"

"The blind girl," Maya sunk back into her seat, having risen in anger just moments before. "Everyone knows her."

"We did it." Emily had never said the words out loud before. Not to someone that wasn't in their group at least.

"What?"

"Alison told us that Toby was spying on us. Peeping in our windows, you know? None of us wanted to do it." Emily lowered her voice. The cafe was filling with more people. "She said she wanted to teach Toby a lesson. She threw a stink bomb in his bedroom. We didn't think anyone was in there." Maya's hand covered her mouth. "It went bad and that's why Jenna is blind. Ali had something on Toby and it wasn't until a lot later that we realized she blackmailed him to take the fall."

"So A is threatening to tell the truth about Jenna?"

"That's one secret," hesitating, Emily tapped her nails against the table. "Hanna has her own secrets that I can't share. Aria, too. But A did almost split up her parents. Alison and Aria caught Aria's dad cheating on her mom. Her dad made her swear to never tell. A told."

"And you?" Maya looked nervous now. "Are there more secrets about you?"

"A was the one who took that photo from Noel's party. A sent it to my mom and to Hanna. That's why Hanna asked you to come to homecoming. She was the first one to know that I liked girls, after Alison obviously. I think that's why she's pushing this so hard. Not that I don't want it," she added quickly. "I just think Hanna feels obligated to do something more. I don't know. But A is responsible for my parents finding out. A has sent us evidence regarding Alison's murder that incriminated Ian."

"Like?"

"He used to take videos of us," Shivers ran up Emily's spine. "While we were changing. Things like that. Alison found out and had them locked at a storage facility. We only just found out about them."

"Have you turned them in?"

"No."

"Why-"

"They're gone. The night Spencer and Ian were at the church, she had a flashdrive filled with the videos. She threw it at Ian. He lunged at it. I had another copy, but at some point during the open house either A or Ian or someone working for Ian got in and swiped my entire hard drive. They're gone, now. We'll probably never see them again unless Ali hid them somewhere else. Without the evidence, the police won't even listen to us. We've caused too much trouble."

"Is A helping or hurting you?"

"I don't know." Emily muttered honestly. "A sends us evidence and somehow we always find a way to screw it up. But A wants us destroyed in the process. Most of the evidence she sends incriminates us somehow."

"Has A done anything else to you?"

Emily knew the time had come to tell Maya the real reason for their breaking up. She took a long swig of her water and capped the bottle back up. Maya was looking at her seriously now. The tension in the air had increased ten-fold and Emily was getting that urge to run again.

"When I woke up the morning after," Emily looked around. "Er," She felt very exposed. "our night, I had a text from A. It was a video of us making love." Maya's hand knocked the coffee straight off the table. Customers next to us let out startled yells and two baristas flew over and began soaking up the spilled beverage. Both girls were muttering incessant apologies to both the workers and the customers around them. Many moved a couple tables over leaving the girls to talk a bit more freely than they had. Emily was relieved, because she knew the conversation had only just begun. Declining the offer of a new coffee, Maya turned back to Emily whose cheeks were an unmistakeable shade of rose red. "A told me if I didn't break up with you in public that she would spread the tape around."

"Oh," It was all Maya could manage to say.

"I never wanted to," Emily sputtered. "That morning I was in the bathroom with the girls and they were trying to find every way around it in the world. It was horrible. I never-"

"I know. I believe you."

"I really did-" Emily stopped. "I really do love you."

"What do we do now?"

"Well," Emily cleared her throat, trying to ignore the fact that Maya ignored her comment. "Hanna thinks we should fight back. Well, not really fight back." she said hastily. "A only has so much against us now. The tape is definitely the biggest for me. And you. But she thinks if we all cover our bases and make sure we don't give A anything else to hold against us, we can win this game that A is playing. We'll let her fire off everything she has and then she'll have nothing left."

"So she'll release the tape?"

"Probably."

"Are you okay with that?"

"Are _you?_" Emily snapped. "My mom could see that and come back and take me to Texas. But A will always have it and someday it will be out there. The sooner it comes the sooner it goes away, right?" Emily felt like she was trying harder to convince herself of that.

"Do we at least look hot?"

"Maya!"

"Just trying to lighten the mood," she smiled. Her hand reached across the table and clutched Emily's. The butterflies – no, these were full sized, over grown toucans – flapped hard in her stomach. "I'm sorry."

"You really _don't _have to apologize."

"I want to."

"I'm sorry too."

"Let's just both be sorry."

"I'm okay with that."

They smiled.

"So," Maya sighed. "Do we go back to where we were and risk it?" Emily chewed on her lip. She hadn't thought this far ahead. The risk of meeting with Maya had been her full concern. She never even thought about what they would do at the end of the conversation and where their relationship would stand. Emily thought about her mom in texas. Surely, that would be the first person A sent the video to. There was a very real possibility that she would be booked on the next plane out.

"If A sends that to my mom," Emily began. "I'll probably be sent there and I definitely won't be coming back." Maya's face fell. "But if we go with what A wants, we're separated anyway."

"So?" It was a hopeful 'so' and Emily just squeezed Maya's hand tighter.

"So I think it's worth the risk,"

**I didn't mean to scare you guys! I'm not giving up on the story. I was just giving up on that chapter. I was in a bad mood and I knew exactly where I wanted this chapter to go. The previous chapter was just too short, and I was getting frustrated that I couldn't play it out longer. I think this was worth it though. Today's chapter is by far my favorite that I've written. When I began writing it, I was going to end the entire story here. It would end with Maya and Emily just how it had begun. **

**The more I thought about it though, the more I wanted to carry it out. Somewhere in this chapter (and I'm not going to tell you where) an entire idea blossomed out of no where and I really want to carry it out. There WILL still be Maya/Emily scenes. There are only a couple chapters left though. I really love Hanna and I felt like we don't see enough of her up close and personal in this story. Considering how nice she is to Emily, I wanted to give her a little treat. **

**I really hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. Leave a review and tell me what you think!**

**Question of the Chapter:**

**Did you begin reading this story solely for the purpose of Maya/Emily and are staying for those scenes, or are you now reading because of the other aspects I've brought in? I'm really interested in hearing.**


	13. The Videos Return

**This chapter begins with Spencer and her day stuck in Rosewood Melissa-sitting.**

Spencer looked at her clock. It was only eight o'clock in the morning but she was wide awake. Hanna hadn't told her the entire plan, but Spencer knew that somewhere in Elmhold her three friends were discussing the possibility of letting Maya in on their secrets. Not that Spencer cared – in fact, she thought it was a wonderful idea. Above all Spencer wanted what was best for Emily. But that didn't stop a little part of her inside be torn with fear. Letting one more person in meant letting A have one more person to hurt. Spencer didn't wish that on anyone but Ian.

The kitchen was dark when Spencer came downstairs. Her parents were gone for the weekend; they said that they needed a much deserved weekend retreat. Melissa had objected to the idea and, though their parents had offered to let her come as well, she hated the idea of being away from the house more. That left Spencer to take care of her very pregnant and very emotional sister. It wasn't something she was looking forward to, but Spencer couldn't help but hope that Melissa would detach herself from her phone long enough for Spencer to check the call history and messages.

Too tired to cook and not hungry enough even for cereal, Spencer settled on a cold poptart and a glass of orange juice. It wasn't a normal staple in the Hastings household diet. Spencer wasn't even sure if her mom, who prided herself on eating only organic, knew what a poptart was. Normally Spencer did some of her own grocery shopping just to avoid the inevitable overflow of obnoxiously healthy foods. Unlike her family, Spencer loved junk food. With another bite of poptart, Spencer looked at her reflection in the doorwall. It will catch up to me one day, Spencer thought dully. She finished her poptart and fiddled with her phone, taking a sip of juice every now and again. The sound of a drill awoke her from her gazing idly at the phone and Spencer drug her tired body over to the window. She couldn't see, but Spencer knew that the sound was coming from the DiLaurentis property. Jason had been performing "household tasks" since he moved in. Most of his days were ripping apart boards and digging holes in the yard. When asked, he said he was remodeling. Spencer didn't buy it. Jason was hiding something and she was determined to find out what it was.

She took the stairs two at a time until she reached her bedroom. From her own window, she had a decent view of the DiLaurentis yard. Jason was ripping apart the back patio board plank by board plank. He had a determined look laced across his face. She couldn't hear it, but Jason reached down into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Spencer saw him answer it. Her heart dropped into her stomach when, not too far from her door, Melissa's voice spoke very clearly into her own cell phone.

"Ian wants to know if you did it," Spencer heard Melissa say clearly. Across the yards, Spencer could only see Jason's mouth forming words. Carefully, she tried cracking her window and hoped the wind would carry his voice over. The window squeaked and, biting her lip, Spencer didn't risk opening it any further. Melissa was somewhere in the hallway and clearly didn't know that Spencer was awake. "Well why not?" Melissa asked next. "Look, I don't know what it is he wants from you but he wants it and he wants it soon."

Spencer dug her nails into her side. So Melissa _was _in contact with Ian. She had already known this, but hearing Melissa say it made it so much more real.

"Jason, please. I just want my husband back. You know just as well as I do that we never meant to hurt her. It was all a mistake. We don't deserve this."

Her hand flew up and Spencer clamped it over her mouth; she couldn't comprehend what she had just heard. Melissa basically just confessed to Alison's murder. She didn't say her name, though. Fumbling in her pockets, Spencer searched for her phone, hoping to record some of the conversation. She was defeated when she remembered that it was still downstairs on the kitchen counter. Melissa had lowered her voice now so much that Spencer had to press her ear firmly against the door.

"My parents aren't home this weekend," she said. "Ian is coming over tonight. I can get rid of Spencer. Why don't you come over? We can talk."

Spencer felt as though she were being suffocated. Ian would be coming here _tonight._ Her immediate thought was to tell the police. But really, would they believe the youngest Hasting? It was becoming like the girl who cried wolf. Spencer heard Melissa tell Jason that she would see him tonight and hang up the phone. Hearing Melissa walk towards her bedroom door, Spencer dove into her bed and flung herself under the covers so quickly she might have given herself whiplash. The door creaked open and Melissa poked her head in.

"Hey, Spence? You awake?" Spencer didn't say anything. She didn't want Melissa to think that there was even the possibility she was overheard. Melissa crept in the room and sat at the edge of Spencer's bed. Heart beating wildly, Spencer tried regulating her breathing as best she could. Never before had she ever felt so terrified of her sister lingering over her bed. Melissa was a murderer, plain and simple. Knowing she couldn't hold it in much longer, Spencer pretended to stir out of a sleep. Her insides were burning but she smiled at Melissa.

"Everything okay? The baby?"

"Totally fine," Melissa smiled. Spencer couldn't tell if it was fake or genuine. Her sisters hand came and rested on her arm. "I was just letting you know that I'm really doing okay today, and if you wanted to go out tonight that would be fine. I know you and the girls probably want to spend time together after being apart for so long."

"No," Spencer said slowly, wondering how far she could stretch this conversation. She wanted to see if Melissa would crack. "Emily has a date with Maya," she lied. "And I think Hanna is having dinner with her dad and then seeing a movie. He's in town, you know." It was another lie. Mr. Marin had left a few days ago, but the plausibility of Hanna having dinner and seeing a movie with her mom wasn't good enough. "Pretty sure Aria is spending some time with her family since Emily is going to be out. No, I think I'll stay home." Spencer pretended to stretch and she climbed past Melissa and out of her bed. She walked to the dresser and feigned interest in the clothes. Chancing a glance at the mirror positioned towards her bed, Spencer saw Melissa in deep thought. Not knowing or caring what it was she picked from her drawer, Spencer pointed to the bathroom. "I'm going to change," she muttered quietly.

"Wait, Spencer?"

"Yeah?"

"The truth is," This was it. "I kind of just want to be alone tonight." Spencer frowned. This _wasn't _it. Melissa continued. "I feel like everyone thinks I need a babysitter. To be honest, I want to curl up on the couch, turn off all the lights, eat a whole pizza and watch sappy romance movies until I fall asleep. But I want to do it alone."

"If something were to happen to the baby-"

"Nothing will!" she insisted. "I swear I'm feeling fine. I can keep my phone right at my side the whole night," _As if you don't already, _Spencer thought bitterly. "If I need you I can call. 911 first, of course. If it's serious. Come on, I just want the house to myself. Mom and dad would never understand. You're my sister. Can you please do this for me?"

Spencer found herself agreeing, packing a bag, and heading over to Aria's. She didn't look back.

* * *

><p>Emily, Maya, Aria and Hanna strolled around Elmhold for another hour. The little shops weren't much different than those in Rosewood, but none of the girls liked the idea of going home and finding messages waiting for them at their phones. It would also be too soon to return from a hiking trip which Aria and Emily had no idea Hanna concocted. When the girls felt their stomachs grumble, they stopped back at the cafe, ordered sandwiches to go, and hustled back to catch one of the buses leaving to Rosewood.<p>

They mostly ate their sandwiches in silence. Emily snuggled into Maya's shoulder when they were through and fell asleep. Maya, too satisfied with the position to wake her up, dozed off as well. Hanna and Aria sat and talked.

"It was a good idea," Aria complemented Hanna. Hanna just smiled and nodded, thinking back earlier this morning to her and Caleb. She hadn't mentioned it to Aria yet. When they had been shopping, it was nice to not think about anything other than spending money. They were going back to Rosewood now, though, and back to their normal lives.

"Caleb and I are back together,"

"What?" Flabbergasted, Aria dropped the book back in her bag that she was pulling out.

"I ran into him this morning on the way to your house," Hanna pulled up her knee and pointed to the bandaid. For the first time, Aria noticed it. "Patched me up."

"What did you do?"

"Fell." she said easily. "But we talked, and now we're back together."

"You're okay with it?"

"With him spying on me? No. But I can't pretend I don't want to be with him." Hanna looked back at the two sleeping behind them. "I look at that and that's what I want."

"Do you think Jenna is A?" Aria looked at Hanna. "I mean, we haven't really talked about her in a while. She could still be A. She has every right to hate us and to want us to get in trouble."

"But would she honestly want to help us find Ali's killer?"

"No," Aria shrugged. "I guess not. Plus, she wouldn't want those videos of her and Toby to come out. She wanted to find them. That's why she hired Caleb, right? To find the videos?"

"To find the key _to _the videos."

"Same difference."

"Who wants to hurt us but help Ali?"

"What did you say?" Hanna turned her head slowly.

"Well it's the truth," muttered Aria. "A wants us to find Ali's killer, but wants to hurt us. So who is it? Who loved Ali so much but hated us?"

"Why have we _never _looked at it like that?" Hanna felt stupid. She picked through her bag and pulled out the notebook Spencer had been writing in. Hanna had taken it from her the last time they were all together. She flipped to a clean page and wrote the date. "Jenna can't be A." she scribbled Jenna's name on the page just for good measure and then crossed it on with one thin line.

"Jason?" suggested Aria.

"But he left," Hanna chewed on the pen. "He just came back. Could he really be A? If he knew who killed his sister, why wouldn't he just tell? Jason has been riding the cops since her body was found,"

"He's still suspicious. Spencer said he's tearing apart the house."

"That's not A suspicious, though." Hanna wrote his name down anyways and put a tiny question mark in parenthesis. "Who else was Ali even friends with other than us?"

"The older boy."

"That's Ian,"

"Maybe not." Aria said. "Maybe there were more. We're talking about Ali,"

"Well that wouldn't do us much good. If we don't know his name, we can't really rule him out or in as a suspect."

"Hanna," uttered Aria thoughtfully. "have we ever considered Mona?"

"Oh please," Hanna snorted. "Mona is a bitch but I really don't think she's capable of half of what A has done. Pushing Ian? Hitting me with a car? She would break a nail or something. Besides, Mona isn't smart enough to bug our phones."

"She was in _love _with Ali." Aria looked back at Emily. "Well, not in that way. But she would have done anything to be Ali's friend."

"Yeah, and Ali treated her like dirt. Why would Mona want to find her killer?"

"Mona is obsessed with being popular,"

"Yeah... so?"

"So it probably didn't matter what Ali said or did to her. Ali was everything Mona wanted to be and she idolized Ali."

"Look, Mona is my friend."

"Noel was your friend too. Look how well that turned out."

"Come on, Aria."

"You guys yell at me all the time for letting my emotions get in the way of this," Aria chided.

"A knows all the secrets we told Ali. All of them. Why would Ali tell Mona anything?"

"She told Jenna some of our secrets,"

"Jenna-"

"-was no different than Mona." The bus skimmed to a halt at the Rosewood bus station. Aria turned around and poked both Maya and Emily. She turned back to Hanna and whispered, "I'm not accusing her just like all you weren't accusing Ezra. I'm saying that everyone is a possibility."

"Are we going to accuse our own families next?" Hanna hissed.

"You don't even like Mona," spat Aria back, picking her shopping bag up off the floor. Maya and Emily were already off the bus. Hurrying to catch up, Aria turned around and walked away from Hanna. Hanna caught up to her and spoke quietly and harshly into her ear.

"I do like Mona." she said, "Most of the time."

"Guys, what's up?" Emily shouted from far ahead of them. Maya and her were already walking up the street. Aria quickened her pace to get away from Hanna.

"Nothing," Aria flashed a smile. Hanna reached them now and smiled as well, though not as happily as Aria. It was more of a fake, _I'm too pissed to even try_, Hanna smile. Maya glanced at Emily who just shrugged it off. They walked up the street until they reached Aria's house.

On the porch sat Spencer. To her right was an overnight bag and her purse. On the left sat her phone. She stood up when she saw all of them coming towards her.

"S.O.S," she muttered quietly. All of the girls looked at each other.

* * *

><p>"Ian is coming," Emily gulped down dry air. "tonight?" None of the girls could look at each other. They were all too frightened. They all went straight upstairs to Aria's room. Neither Alla or Byron were home and, knowing Mike was at practice, Aria didn't bother to shut her door. Emily was sitting with her back pressed against the wall. Maya, for the first time genuinely aware of how dire the situation was with Alison's death, had her head resting in Emily's lap. Emily was stroking her hair absentmindedly but Maya didn't even notice. She was too focused on hearing everything that Spencer had to say. Hanna was laying on her back on the floor just next to Aria's bed. Aria, with a pensive look on her face, sat curled on her bed with her back pushed up against the wall. She hadn't spoken much since she unlocked the house and climbed up the stairs to her bedroom. Spencer was the only one of them standing, too uneasy and emotional to sit still for a long period of time. She had just finished telling the girls about the conversation Melissa had with Jason. Emily was still the only one who had found the nerve to speak.<p>

"At least Melissa had the curtesy to tell me to leave before my attempted murderer came in the house,"

"Spencer," Emily closed her eyes and let her head rest against the wall behind her. "What do we do? Go to the police?"

"We could," Spencer had already thought of that. While she waited impatiently for the other girls to come back from Elmhold, she had run down the many different people they could tell about Ian coming. Toby was the first that popped in her mind. He would do just about anything to protect Spencer and that was exactly what Spencer was worried about. He didn't need any more marks on his record. "But chances are, they would blow us off. We're not very reliable tipsters." Hanna sat up and was about to protest but even she couldn't come up with anything to say. Every time they had gone to the cops, they were accused of lying. They weren't taken seriously until they had hard core proof and even then the police were less inclined to believe that a rich, popular boy from the right side of town could be caught up in something as serious as murder.

"So what do we do? Just let him show up here and figure out a new way to kill Spencer?" spat Hanna.

"We don't know he's here to do that," Spencer replied meekly. "I"d like to believe my sister wouldn't actually help someone plan my murder. I don't think I'm that important to him anymore, to be honest."

"Why?" asked Aria.

"Ian wants something." Spencer thought back to the one-sided conversation she heard earlier. "It's like Jason is doing something for him and it isn't getting done soon enough. If it was killing me, Jason had plenty of opportunities. I've gone over there a couple times now,"

"Speaking of that." Hanna rolled on her side. "Can we _not _have you going over to the creepy brothers house anymore? We know Ian is in contact with Melissa and Jason."

"Don't worry," Spencer shuddered. "I'm not going over there anymore. I don't even want to go home."

They all quieted down. Somewhere downstairs, a door opened and the sound of Mike's lacrosse equipment slamming to the ground all stunned them silent. Aria rolled off her bed and shut her door just as Mike was going into his room; like always, he entered without a word to Aria. She sighed. He hasn't quite forgiven her for everything that happened between their parents.

"Do you think that's why Jason is remodeling the house?" asked Spencer. "To accommodate hiding Ian? It would make sense. Maybe he is adding some super secret underground room," Even Spencer rolled her eyes at herself. "It has to do with the remodeling though. Why else would he be wasting his time ripping boards and walls and digging holes? Ian obviously wants something and-"

"-and Jason is looking for it." Emily stood up so quickly that she forgot Maya's head was in her lap. Maya rubbed the back of her head where it hit the floor, but Emily was too excited to even notice. She was pacing back and forth. They all saw the wheels turning behind her eyes; she was thinking a mile a minute, running through her conversation with Maya earlier. "Guys, Jason isn't remodeling. He's looking for something."

"Slow down,"

"No, seriously. Listen. Alison had hiding places all over that house. None of us knew where _any _of them were, we just knew that they were they. Don't you remember?"

"I guess," Spencer shrugged. "but what could Alison hide that Ian _and _Jason want? And what does it have to do with her murder?"

"Alison used to say that our secrets were safe with her because if she didn't want them found, they weren't. She took some of Jason's things all the time. She hid them. Jason would tear apart her room looking and he never got his stuff back."

"Okay, we believe you. They're probably looking for something. But honestly, what could be that important? How could Alison hide something to incriminate them after her murder?" Aria said, who looked over at Hanna who looked at Spencer. Emily's eyes were wild.

"The videos."

"Were destroyed..." said Spencer slowly.

"Alison wasn't stupid." Emily folded her arms across her stomach and looked at all of them accusingly. "You can't honestly believe she would have been stupid enough to have _one _copy of those videos. She was smart enough to give me the key in a place where I'd never even think to look. If she was smart enough to figure all that out and to rent some storage locker, who is to say that she wasn't smart enough to make another copy?"

Hanna cocked an eyebrow. "And then dumb enough to leave it in the house?"

"But Alison had lots of hiding places in that house," Emily countered. "Places Jason never found. Guys, Alison knew everything about us but we knew absolutely nothing about her. I bet that's what they're looking for."

"No, stop." Spencer pressed the palm of her head to her forehead. "This doesn't make sense. Why would Jason help Ian? Those videos were of his little sister,"

"Jason was a creep." Emily crawled to where Spencer had sat down on Emily's bed. "Remember that sleepover? She was the only girl in that house, Spence. She came over and she was really upset. What if-"

"-don't go there-"

"-Spencer-"

"-no way-"

"Could someone fill us in?" Hanna snapped.

"Me and Spencer had a sleepover," Emily explained. "It was when Ali was still alive. Jason was throwing this party at his house. Well, to be honest, I don't think it was a party so much as an outright rave. Alison came over really upset. I mean, she tried not to act upset, but she looked like she was about to cry. She was the only girl in that house, and..." she bit her lip. "The way she was talking worried me then, and the more I think about it now..."

"Spit it out," urged Aria.

"Emily thinks Jason abused Ali." Spencer finished for Emily. "Sexually, I'm assuming." All their heads turned to Emily. Even Maya, who had been sitting across the room feeling slightly left out of their conversation, pushed herself off the ground and joined everyone on the bed. They were all sitting together now.

"I don't know, Em."

"Jason was high and drunk that entire summer." Emily pointed out. "And the way Ali would talk about him always worried me. We never saw much of him but when we did he was a massive creep. He was friends with _Ian._"

Hanna took the time to work it out in her head. "Maybe,"

"None of the videos had Jason in them," Aria said.

"What if there are more videos?" Spencer shot out. "That actually makes sense. I mean, really, why would Ian still be sticking close to home? He wants something from Jason. Jason moves back in to that house and starts ripping it apart. Looking for something makes sense. Him abusing Ali makes sense, even. Hold on," she began muttering under her breath with her eyes tightly closed. "Think about it. Jason is abusing Ali," Spencer hardly got out the word abusing. "He makes videos. Him and Ian, that is. They're high and drunk half the time. Ali always went into his room and took stuff just to piss him off. She finally finds out that Jason has been taping her and all of us. Ali takes the videos. First she stashes the ones of all of us girls at the storage unit. She hides the other ones separate."

"Why?" asked Hanna. "Why not keep them all together?"

"That was Ali's secret," whispered Emily. "We weren't allowed to know hers. If Jason was," she swallowed hard. "_hurting,_" For a second, Emily paused. "Ali on those tapes, she wouldn't want anyone to find out. Ali didn't like to be shown as weak. She could risk the tapes of all of us but there was no way Ali would have let anyone know if Jason was hurting her."

"So Ali puts the tapes in the storage unit and then hides the ones of her and Jason at home." Hanna looked at the other girls. "I guess that makes sense."

"Jason doesn't realize his tapes are missing, but Ali starts blackmailing Ian because Ian took some of the videos of all of us. Ian was obviously the older boy," Spencer said. "Melissa couldn't find out and that was the best part for Ali. The secrecy of it all. She was always looking at Ian. I should have figured it out. The night that we had that sleepover, Jason finds all of his videos missing. He's completely stoned out of his mind and comes to my house to find Ali and bring her home,"

Aria interrupted. "But he runs into Melissa who is already following Ali into the woods."

"So they go together?" Emily asked.

"To find Ali," nodded Spencer. "They find her with Ian. Melissa is outraged that Ali is still blackmailing Ian, and Ian is shitting his pants that Melissa is there. Jason is still high. He's pissed that Ali is there with Ian and that she took the tapes."

"Jason struggles with Ali," muttered Hanna.

"Ali gets away from him." Emily whispered.

Aria frowned. "Melissa grabs a hold of her because she still wants to talk."

"Melissa holds her so tightly it cuts off her circulation." finished Spencer.

"So Ali falls," Emily was mentally trying to put puzzle pieces together. "-they think she just hit her head, but she really suffocated. That's why Ian got it wrong that night in the church tower."

"But where did they take her body?" Maya finally spoke. "I mean, we found it when we were changing up the backyard. Where did they hide it for so long?"

"I don't know." Spencer said honestly. "It was under construction when the DiLaurentis' lived there too. I don't care. But I think we have it right, you guys. It makes sense. Maybe it was an accident, but they killed her. Jason thought that he was safe for whatever reason and that the videos didn't matter anymore so he had no problem leaving. He only came back when Ian almost killed me. That night that I talked to him, he was so determined to hear exactly what Ian said to me in that bell tower. It was almost like he wanted to make sure he didn't say anything bad. I know too much. Or, I knew too much. Ian knew that I distrusted him way too much and that I was determined to find out who killed Ali. I was a threat. We're all a threat," said Spencer. "That's why Ian wanted those videos. He thought they were the only incriminating evidence that there was but they didn't realize Ali split the tapes in two. Now Jason is looking for them. That's why he moved back and that's why he's tearing it apart. He thinks they're in that house."

"And are they?"

Spencer didn't say anything right away. The glint in her eyes was almost frightening. She stood up and walked to the window, looking out across suburban Rosewood.

"We could find out," Spencer turned back around and faced the girls. "Tonight."

"Are you nuts?" Aria hissed. "You want to go break into Jason's?"

"He's not going to be there," reasoned Spencer. "Him, Melissa and Ian will be at my house."

"And what exactly do you think we're going to find that Jason hasn't?"

"We knew Ali better." she said.

"Did we really?" asked Emily.

"Better than the guy who was probably raping her every drunken night," Spencer snapped. "We need to get inside that house and see what he's doing."

"I don't know." Maya said hesitantly. "You guys, this is really dangerous."

"The cops won't do anything." yelled Spencer. "They're not going to go in that house with reasonable cause and they would need a search warrant. Let's go in and try and find the videos and get out. Once we have them we can go into the station and say we found them in that storage locker. Em, you still have the key?" Emily nodded. "This might be our only chance."

They all looked around waiting for one of the others to say something. Emily was the first to speak. She squeezed Maya's hand and then let it go so she could walk over to where Spencer was.

"I'm in," she said quietly. Aria nodded.

"Me too."

They all turned to Hanna, who just rolled her eyes.

"This is such a bad idea. Whatever. I'm in."

**Sorry it took so long to get this up. I wanted to wait for the episode to air so I could see what I needed to work in. Luckily for me, absolutely nothing significant happened in the episode. **

**Another chapter in one to two days. Review and let me know what you think is going to happen.**

**Chapter Question: **

**Do you think that the girls are right and Alison was abused? Or do you think they have it ALL wrong and they are only going to find disappointment and get themselves into more trouble with the law?**


	14. Goodbye, Rosewood

"This is all my fault," Spencer slinked down into the firm hospital chair. Her eyes were lacking any light and her cheeks still had thin splotches of dirt on them. A thin cut, almost like an elongated paper cut, ran down her forearm. She rested her head in her hands and took in three slow, long breaths.

"It's not," Aria, just as dirty and worn looking as Spencer, knelt down next to the chair and placed her head on Spencer's shoulder. Spencer jumped, just slightly, but then relaxed and let Aria's thin arms wrap around her own tiny body. She felt even smaller than usual. Hanna crossed from the other side of the room and slid down onto the arm of the chair, letting her body rest casually into Spencer's. "We all went. We knew what we were doing,"

Hanna, her eyes just as dead as Spencer and Aria's, only raised her voice just above a whisper. "Aria is right. We knew what we were doing. We all did." The door to the hospital room slammed open startling all three girls right out of their seats. Maya, looking harried and sleepless, tore in. Her eyes stopped at the hospital bed where Emily laid, her eyes shut and quivering just slightly with REM and the beeping hospital screen with all her vitals. Maya wasn't crying but everyone in the room could tell that she was holding it back with everything she had in her.

"She's sleeping, right?" asked Maya, her voice strained. "Guys, she's sleeping?" Spencer took her hands away from Hanna and Aria's and replaced them with Maya's. Her eyes were beginning to brim with the start of fresh tears. She shook her head, just enough that the first tear fell and dropped on Spencer and Maya's connected hands.

* * *

><p><strong>24 hours earlier<strong>

Maya left Aria's at Emily's insistence. She didn't want Maya in anymore trouble and Emily knew the dangers of what they would be doing that night. After much begging, pleading, and promises of calling later that night Maya took off down the street towards her house. Emily, Hanna, Aria and Spencer took the time to get ready.

Aria's closet was the logical choice for their all black clothing. Hanna hummed the mission impossible theme song as they dug through Aria's closet and changed into different clothes but none of the other girls found much humor behind it. They were all swallowing nerves and trying to push away the sick feeling in the bottom of their stomachs. Hanna squeezed into a pair of black skinny jeans that were a size too small and a black sweater. It was too risky for Hanna to run home and get any of her own things; her mother could be home and stop her from leaving again. The Montgomery's wouldn't be home for another few hours at least. Aria slipped on a pair of boot cut black pants and a black turtleneck that made it unbearably hot but covered her smooth, milky, moon pale skin nicely. Emily had it the easiest; her skin was so tan and her hair so dark that she would blend in with the night much better than any of the girls. She kept her hair down to frame her face and pulled on a pair of black jeans she had brought with her when she moved into Aria's. She slipped on a plain, short sleeved black t-shirt. Spencer wore the same outfit as Emily and kept her hair down as well, figuring her dark brown hair could be just as valuable as Aria and Emily's almost black hair. Hanna was the only one who tied her hair up into a messy bun and grabbed a black hooded sweatshirt to wear.

Spencer grabbed an old travel on sized black duffel bag from Aria's closet. It wasn't too big to be noticeable walking down the street, but the inside had enough room to carry what they needed. Aria found three flash lights in the downstairs closet. Two were small and reminded Emily of the flashlights that they used on shows like CSI. Their lights were bright and white, not yellow, and they were small enough to slip in a pocket. The other flashlight, big, brown and bulky, looked like it hadn't been used in years. It was something you would use in camping or a weather emergency and emitted a bright yellow light. The flashlight was heavy and clunky but Aria slipped it into the bag. There were four of them, but three flashlights would have to do. Aria found a hammer and two screw drivers that they could use to pry anything open that they might need to. Emily shot an apprehensive look at the bag and sighed. This was criminal. They were breaking into a house.

"I don't have my phone," Hanna dug through her pockets. "I forgot. I left it at the house."

"Mine is dead too," said Spencer poking at her black screen.

"Just stick with me or Em." Aria muttered, checking her battery life. "One of us will have our phones. As long as we stick together, we're fine. Let's hope we don't need them, anyway." She slipped her phone in her pocket. Spencer zipped up the bag and slung it over her shoulder.

"It's still light out," she pointed out the window. "How are we supposed to do this?"

"Let's just go through the trees and come out behind Spencer's house. We'll be able to see when Jason leaves and then we can go in through the back." Aria fidgeted nervously with locks of her hair. "We should have a plan, though. We can't just go walking in that house. We don't know what we're even looking for,"

"We know what we're looking for. We don't know where to look." corrected Emily.

Spencer collapsed back onto the floor. They couldn't leave for a while anyway and they certainly couldn't go barging into a house without any clue of what to do afterwards, especially not when they didn't know how much time they would have. "So where would Ali hide them?"

"Jason thinks that they are in the house." Emily played with a broken thread from her shirt. "Maybe in Ali's room?"

Hanna shook her head. "That would be the first place Jason looked,"

"You're sure Maya never found any videos when she was moving in?" Spencer asked Emily.

"Positive. She said that all the stuff in those boxes were old medals and notebooks. If she had found a flash drive, she would have told the DiLaurentis'. They came back for those boxes later, she said. So if they were in there, Jason would already have them. I thought the boxes were gone gone, but Maya found a note on her door the day we first met. I guess Ali's mom came right as we went in the house and took all the boxes back. She let Maya know if there were any more things of Ali's to call."

"Where else in the house would Ali hide a flashdrive?"

"Guys, I think we're just going to have to go in blind." Hanna said seriously. "I mean, we have no idea where Ali could have hidden it. We don't even know if she hid anything. Sitting here and trying to figure out some of Ali's hiding spots are stupid. For all we know, Jason is just tearing up the house for fun."

"So we just go in?" Emily's eyes fell. "This is such a bad idea."

"If you don't want to come-" snapped Spencer.

"I didn't say that." her eyes narrowed at Spencer. "I just think this is a bad idea. I mean, if we had more time-"

"We don't have anymore time. We barely have the time that we have. I don't even know when Jason is going to my house tonight, or when Ian is arriving, or where he is arriving from. For all I know, Ian is next door. We don't have time, Emily." Spencer grabbed the bag and slung it over her shoulder, careful to make sure that it was zipped properly. "I'm going. If you don't want to go, you don't have to."

"Spence-"

"Seriously."

"Okay, stop." Aria stood up and went between Emily and Spencer. "Em is right, Spencer. But Spencer is right too." Hanna took the moment of silence to stand. She looked at every one of her friends, her eyes lingering especially long on Emily, and spoke.

"To be honest," she said. "I think we're in just as much danger sitting in Aria's room all night. Maybe the danger isn't instant, but..." Hanna looked at Spencer. "Spence is right. Ian is dangerous, and he'll be dangerous until the day he, Jason and Melissa are behind bars for Alison's murder. We need to find whatever Ian wants Jason to find. If we don't, this is never going to end."

"A little dramatic, Han." drawled Aria.

"No, she's right." Everyone was surprised to hear Emily say that. "It's never going to get better." Spencer didn't wait for anyone else to talk. She looked out the window, saw the sun beginning to set somewhere in the distance, and broke away towards the door. Spencer peeked out first to make sure Mike wasn't in the hallway and she dashed down the stairs, nearly tripping on the last one. Hanna went next and then Emily. Aria tip toed over to Mike's door and knocked. With a grumpy _'what?', _Aria shouted that they were going out and didn't wait for a response. She took the stairs two at a time to reach the other girls who were already sliding out the back door and making a run for tree cover. None of them looked back.

* * *

><p>It felt like needles were poking at the back of Emily's neck hundreds of times as the girls made their way into the trees. They had a few hours at least, but none of them wanted to still be making their way through the forest when it was dark out. The dank, moldy smell of moss and worms wafted up into their nostrils. It had rained so much lately that the trees, even days later, were still dripping tiny pellets of water onto their heads. Emily could smell the unforgettable stench of worms and she tried not to visualize them squishing underneath her converse. Hanna, grimacing the entire time, pulled the hood up on her sweater and yanked at the drawstrings so it shielded most of her face. Pesky mosquitos silently flew around them, narrowly dodging their flailing hands and trying their hardest to get a taste of their sweet blood.<p>

_We're prey for everything tonight, _Emily thought darkly. Like she swatted the mosquitos, she swatted the thought right out of her head. It wouldn't do any good to think so negatively. Spencer was still leading the other three through the trees. Though they had taken these paths many times before, it had never seemed so lonely or quiet. None of them wanted to speak and they were all trying their best not to crunch too many branches or crackle too many leaves. It was darker in the trees than it was outside. The overly large green leaves and the tall pines gave them more than enough cover from the sun. A squirrel, chattering and running up a tree with an acorn, startled them all. Aria tripped but grabbed a branch just in time; unfortunately for Aria, the tree wasn't thick enough to hold her wait and she tumbled onto her back. Emily lent a hand and pulled her up. Aria winced just slightly. Her hand had a thin scratch running down the back of it.

"Does it hurt?" asked Emily. "I think we have bandaids,"

"I'm fine." she shook her head.

"Hey, look." Spencer pointed to the clearing up ahead. From a distance, they could see the back of Spencer's old barn turned loft. Even further to the right, the girls had a perfect view of Jason's house. He was outside with a long shovel. A huge mound of dirt was stacked behind him and he seemed to be disappearing into a hole.

"Oh come on," whispered Hanna. "He really thinks Ali would bury something that deep? Someone would notice."

"Jason is getting desperate," Spencer whispered back. "Ian wants whatever Jason can't find."

"Then shouldn't he be practical about it? Look in places Ali would have access to?"

"It's not as though Ali was never left home alone,"

"So she what, dug holes in her free time?" Hanna rolled her eyes. "Ali didn't like getting dirty."

Jason stabbed the shovel into the dirt. He looked frustrated.

"Maybe he's tearing up the yard for different reasons," Aria stood on her toes to get a better look at what Jason was doing. "He could be trying to hide something instead of finding something. Maybe he already found the drive and now he's just trying to find a good place to hide it,"

"That's stupid. He might as well keep it hidden." Jason threw the shovel down on the ground and wiped his forehead. Beads of sweat had been gathering there. He took a long swig out of the coffee mug that was resting on the porch and wiped his mouth. When he looked at his watch, surprise ran across his face and he hurried inside. The girls sat down on the dirt and watched as the sky grew darker.

After a half hour, somewhere admist the dark, tangling trees and the dark shadows of the looming house, Spencer saw Jason's muscly, tall frame hunched over making his way over to the Hasting's household. He kept glancing over his shoulder with feverish glances, almost as if he was scared of leaving his home for too long. His clambering feet made loud echos against the hard, cold ground and even though they were far enough away Spencer felt as though she could feel his vibrations. It was an odd, distant feeling. The moment he rapped on the Hasting door with his large, calloused fist, Spencer broke away from the rest of the group and took off at a fast, but quiet, run. Aria was right behind her, followed by Hanna. It was Emily who breathlessly collapsed on the dirt next to the girls last. Huddled behind the largest bush, and the only bush left, in the yard, Spencer slipped through the broken window to the basement. Jason hadn't fixed it yet, much to the surprise and pleasure of everyone else. Soon Spencer was unlocking the back door to allow the rest of the girls into the house.

Emily was caught off guard and how different the home was. It was no longer Ali or Maya's house. In fact, it was hardly a house at all. They stepped into the kitchen first. None of them could understand how Jason was living here. The marble countertops that had once gleamed shiny and clean were ripped from their places and left gaping holes in the countertops. Some slabs were broken and cracked in different places. The floor was so dusty that small puffs of dirt were dancing around their ankles as they walked. In the middle of the room where the island once sat was only bare, stripped down countertops and a whole mess of broken marble. Cupboards that once lined the walls filled with healthy snacks and kitchen supplies were bare; every single door was opened and some were falling off its hinges. The beautiful chandelier that hung above the island in the middle of the kitchen had no light bulbs. It was only their immense knowledge of the house that helped them navigate. Aria slipped the flashlights from her bag and handed one to Emily and one to Spencer. She held the biggest flashlight for herself and stayed close to Hanna.

There was garbage littering the floor. It used to be beautifully tiled but you could barely see the shiny blue beneath the chinese food cartons, paper plates, broken marble and heaps of dust. Emily kicked at an empty carton of milk and shuddered as a spider wobbled from its hiding spot to find another.

"Where do we look?" whispered Spencer, her eyes now scanning the living room. One couch seemed very untouched but the others had their cushions ripped open with what looked like knife slashes. Stuffing spilled out onto the floor like snow. Even the backs of the couches had deep, violent cuts in them. The wooden panels of the floor were ripped up and bent in different places. There were even holes in the walls that looked like Jason had thrown a punch to make them. Carpet that covered the stairs was torn up and shredded in the corner. The banister attached to the wall just four steps from the ground was pulled off and laying hopelessly against one wall. An old, rickety card table was in the corner far enough from the window that it couldn't be seen from the outside. Two bottles of whiskey sat on it along with an empty case of beer. A couple bags of chips were on the floor, and an old fold up chair that looked like it had been soaked in water and left to rust was home to an empty bag of dove chocolate. A garbage can was on the floor next to it looking sad and unused.

"Let's split up," muttered Aria, looking around. "It'll be faster."

"I'm not going anywhere alone." huffed Hanna.

"We'll go in twos." Emily walked to Hanna. "Hanna and I will go upstairs and you and Spencer stay downstairs. Look anyplace Jason hasn't,"

"You guys can have the big flashlight then." Aria switched flashlights with Emily. "If we don't find anything in thirty minutes, we leave, okay?"

"Deal." Emily and Hanna went upstairs to the bedrooms. It was difficult, mostly because Jason had put holes in the floorboards. They maneuvered their way around them and pointed their flashlight down at the ground before they walked. Together, Hanna and Emily went into the family bathroom first. It seemed to be the only room Jason hadn't completely destroyed. The shower curtain was still up and Hanna tried flicking on a light. When it worked, she immediately shut it off. The tiles seemed to be in place and other than a broken off medicine cabinet door it looked relatively normal. "I'll check the vents," said Emily. "I wouldn't put it past Ali to hide something in a vent."

"Too obvious, but still check." As Emily balanced herself on the edge of the tub and unscrewed screws from the wall vent, Hanna began digging underneath the sink trying not to disturb anything. None of them wanted Jason to realize someone had been snooping through the house. The vent cover fell off with an annoyingly loud clatter, startling Hanna and making her drop an improperly capped bottle of rubbing alcohol. She quickly grabbed a towel from the rack and mopped it up the best she could. "Anything?"

"Just dust." frowned Emily.

"Nothing here either. I guess Jason didn't see it as much of a hiding place either," Hanna rubbed her wet hands on her jeans. "Let's go into Ali's room."

By far, Alison's room was the biggest disaster. There wasn't any furniture but the hardwood floors had been turned up in every place possible. The walls had more holes in them than anything they had seen downstairs. Even the ceiling looked crackled and tampered with. The closet doors had been taken off and were thrown onto the floor near the door. All the old shelves that Mr. DiLaurentis had put up for his daughter were sitting on the floor in a pile and they were no longer boxy shelves but tiny slabs of painted wood. Emily went to the vents and started unscrewing them.

"Do you really think-" began Hanna.

"-yes."

"Hey, look at this." Hanna was across the room staring at the floor. She had come across the one floorboard that Jason hadn't yet ripped up or hadn't planned to. There was a tiny nick in the corner of the wood and when Hanna pressed her foot against it, it wobbled as though it had already once been opened. "Give me that screwdriver." Wedging it between the floorboards, with barely any effort at all the wood slipped up and showed the insulation underneath. Hanna and Emily began digging through, pulling all of the yellow foam up and onto the rest of the floor. "Hey, hey, hey!"

"What?" Emily dropped her foam.

"A key. Look, a key!" Hanna was ripping apart the foam and Emily could see the faint outline of a metal key.

"How did Ali-"

"Her parents redid the floors in here just a few days before Ali went missing," Hanna said. "She would have had time to hide the key in here."

"Why didn't Jason find it?"

"Look at his pattern," Hanna turned around and slouched against the wall, taking a few deep breaths to calm her excitement. "He only ripped up every other panel. See, you can see what's underneath another board that wasn't ripped up if you put your head down here like this. He probably didn't want to do that much work. That's why he left some. He just thought whatever she hid the videos on was a flashdrive. He wouldn't think Ali smart enough to hide it _in _the foam._" _

"So what is the key for? Another storage facility?"

"No," Hanna examined the key. "This looks like a diary."

"So we find Ali's diary," said Emily dully. "That's not the flashdrive."

"No, but I'd love to get my hands on that diary."

"Hanna, we're not here for some diary."

"You're not curious?"

"Of course I'm curious," Emily blushed. She wondered if Ali had wrote anything in her diary about the kiss they shared. "But Ali's dead and we should respect her. Would you want us to read your diary if you died?"

"I give you full permission," Hanna rolled her eyes. "Come on, let's go." Opting to leave the master bedroom for last, Emily and Hanna pushed open the door to Jason's room. The windows were covered by thick layers of newspaper, making it even harder to see despite having a flashlight. There was a small twin mattress with no sheets lying in the corner. A pillow was on the floor next to it. This room was just as undisturbed as the bathroom.

"Han," Emily looked around. "This is perfect."

"What is perfect?"

"Jason hasn't touched this room."

"Well it's his room," Hanna whispered. "Let's go. This is stupid."

"No, this is _perfect."_

"What?"

"It's here. It's in here. The flashdrive."

"Ali isn't that stupid."

"No, Ali wasn't stupid at all. Of course she would hide it in the one place Jason would never think to look. Honestly, think about it. Why would Ali hide anything in her own room? Like she said, if she didn't want something found or found out, it wouldn't be. Hiding it in her own room would be incriminating herself. Hiding it in her own room would risk it being found if looked for. Jason would never even think that she took something from his room only to hide it in there." Neither she or Hanna moved their bodies; only their eyes moved, scanning the room up and down. It was almost as if they were afraid of setting off some sort of bomb. Hanna knew that Emily was probably right. Alison _wasn't _stupid. Hiding the flashdrive in Jason's room made perfect sense. Realization hit Hanna.

"There is a problem though."

"What?"

"Jason probably searched all of Ali's things that the DiLaurentis' brought with them to their new home. But he probably didn't look through any of his own things," Emily's heart sunk, knowing where Hanna was going. "Look around. There isn't anything in here but an old mattress, a duffle bag and a dresser. If Ali hid it somewhere in the furniture, the flashdrive or disc is hundreds and hundreds of miles away from us."

"And from Jason,"

"Which is good and bad, because without the flashdrive we don't have a motive to give the police. But Jason also can't destroy it,"

"It's as good as destroyed if it's somewhere in Jason's old things."

"We need to still look."

"We can't go digging up floorboards, Hanna." Emily kicked at the ground. "No one can know we were in here."

"Then we don't dig up floorboards. Look, if Ali did hide it in Jason's room she would have never had the time to dig up _his _floor. Hers is a different story. That was her room. But Jason lived in this bedroom. All he ever did was drink and smoke and party. Usually the parties were here. It would have had to be a time that Jason left, and the chance that Ali had the house to herself are slim. She would have hid it in a place that he wouldn't guess but didn't take work." Hanna began circling the room. She ran her finger across the pale blue walls. "Check the vents," she ordered, stopping at the closet. It opened with strain. The creak along probably made Spencer and Aria downstairs jump. It was fuller than Hanna expected. All the boxes that they had seen Jason moving into the house were in here. All the girls thought that they were filled with items for the house, but Hanna pushed them away easily. Nothing was in them but air. Jason had been fooling everyone.

She felt around on the floor for any loose floor boards. She could hear Emily behind her fumbling clumsily with the vent cover. None of the floor boars were moving though, and Hanna made her way to stand up and look through the shelves. At the last second though, Hanna caught her eye on something. In the very far corner of the closet a tiny outline of paint looked heavier and thicker than the rest of it. With a single finger, Hanna ran across the line and pushed slightly. It didn't move, but all too curious, Hanna reached into her pocket and pulled out the pocket knife she had taken from Caleb's bag once when he was staying over. Poking the line carefully, she waited until it finally gave way. She smiled at her own skills. Carefully, not wanting to cut anywhere that the globbed paint wasn't, Hanna sliced away and finally a tiny square of wall popped out. It wasn't big enough to even fit Hanna's whole fist inside. She poked two fingers and snapped around like a crab until she felt something hard against her fingers. Praying it wasn't a dead bug her rat, Hanna pulled and out came a tiny Sandisk flashdrive. "Oh my god," she whispered. "Hey!" It was louder than she wanted it to be but Hanna scrambled from the inside of the closet and waved the flashdrive in Emily's face. She was dancing and smiling and Emily was waiting for Hanna to pat herself on the back.

"I can't believe you found it." said Emily, tucking it into her pocket. "Let's go tell the others." Hanna frowned.

"Can't we find her diary, too?"

"Come _on_," Emily yanked Hanna's arm and dragged her down the steps. Aria and Spencer were in the dining room looking confused and dejected. Neither one of them looked very happy. "We got it," Emily's voice came out strained and breathless, but Spencer and Aria jumped up from where they were seated on the dirty floor and ran to their friends. "Let's go."

"Please." Aria shivered. They began going back into the living room to make their way out the door. Instead of going out the back like they came the first time, they decided to leave through the front and walk that way. Not only was it quicker, but Jason left through the back and most likely was coming home through the back. They didn't want to run into them.

"I always loved this room." said Hanna sadly. They all stopped.

"Me too," Emily admitted. "Remember that winter that Ali's parents went away, and we told our moms that we were staying at each others houses but we all really stayed at Ali's?"

"First time we drank," muttered Aria, feeling a bit ashamed. They had only been thirteen. "Ali was so pleased with herself that she knew where the key was to the liquor cabinet."

"That was horrible," Spencer laughed. "It took us maybe two or three drinks to feel tipsy and we threw up the rest of the night."

Emily nodded but walked over to the fireplace. "But when we stopped, we all laid here. There was a fire going and we talked about how we would drink again when we were fourteen, because fourteen seemed like such a better age." she rolled her eyes. "We were so stupid."

"Alison made us do it," offered Spencer.

"But we did it. We were such mindless drones."

"We really were." Hanna said, nodding and sighing. All the girls were quiet for a moment, basking in their own memories of that weekend. It was also the first weekend that the girls really became the group that they did. "Come on, let's go get a drink." All their heads snapped to Hanna. "Joking," she smiled weakly.

"Hey," Spencer walked to the fireplace and stared at it. She poked a single brick with her finger. It pushed in a little. Without waiting for the other girls to say something, Spencer dug her fingernails into the sides of the brick and tugged. She couldn't manage to pull it out. Her fingers were too big. "This brick comes out."

"We already have the flashdrive," Aria said nervously. "What else did Ali hide?"

"I don't know. But if Ali hid it, I don't want Ian or Jason to have it."

"My pocket knife," Hanna dug through her pockets but couldn't find it. "I left it upstairs."

"I'll get it." said Emily.

"We'll all go," Aria looked around. "I really don't like being here you guys. Come on, let's make it quick." They all found themselves upstairs in Jason's room. Aria and Spencer, seeing it for the first time, looking around at how bare and empty it was. Emily got to the closet before Hanna and found the pocket knife laying unceremoniously behind the stack of boxes that Hanna had put back in their place. She moved them around in order to grab the knife, and just as she was shifting the very last of the boxes back into their place, a noise from downstairs had her stomach dropping to her feet. They all stopped. Emily could feel her heart beating against her chest as she stuffed Hanna's knife into her back jean pocket. Downstairs, the footsteps stopped. It was entirely all too quiet in the house.

"Guys," she whimpered.

"Split up," Spencer hissed. "_Now._" Spencer and Aria took off before Emily and Hanna could protest. Emily saw them flee into Ali's room. Hanna looked desperately at Emily before running from the room as well. Emily watched as Hanna peered carefully down the stairs to see if she could see Jason. Hanna scrambled back and slammed herself against the wall, pressing herself so tightly against it that Emily was afraid she would melt into it. Hanna mouth _Jason _to Emily, and although she wasn't surprised in the slightest, a dead feeling crawled up her throat. Emily flattened herself against a wall as well, trying to snake her way into the master bedroom. She was barely breathing.

Hanna kept glancing down the steps just enough to see if Jason had moved yet. He had his back to her, but he was looking curiously around the living room as though he knew someone had been there. Emily looked at the clock on the wall. Their meeting with Ian had lasted forty minutes. How had the girls not realized they had been there for too long? At the end of the long hallway was a door that led to a tight, spiral staircase that went into the kitchen. The girls had used it too many times to count in order to sneak back upstairs. It was right by Ali's room and was much too small for a full grown adult to fit through. Emily, Hanna, Aria and Spencer were all still quite small. They could probably fit as long as they kept their heads down. If Jason stayed exactly where he was, they could sneak through the kitchen and out the back door without him even noticing.

Emily crouched down as low as she could and slithered across the floor to Hanna. She whispered so low that Hanna could only make every other word.

"The stairs," Emily pointed to door at the very end of the hallway. "We need to go there and down through the kitchen." Hanna caught the gist of what Emily was saying, but she shook her head.

"How? Ian will hear us. That door squeaks."

"I'm a faster runner than any of you," Emily leaned over and glanced down the stairs. Ian was slowly circling the living room now. "Get Spencer and Aria. Go down the stairs and wait at the bottom. I'll through something down the stairs,"

"No."

"Come on," hissed Emily. "I can run faster and the second I throw it he's going to run up the stairs. By the time he does, I'll already be half way down the steps. I promise."

"Fine, but we're not leaving without you."

"You won't have to." Emily tugged at Hanna's shirt and pushed her towards the door. She watched her as she crept into Ali's old bedroom and found Aria and Spencer, and watched as the three of them disappeared behind the old rickety door. Fumbling in the dark for something heavy enough to throw, Emily finally settled on a piece of marble from the kitchen that had somehow made its way up the stairs and onto the floor. She scooted back as far as she could and waited until she could see Jason. He was still looking away from her but his hand was scratching the back of his head. With a deep breath and a quick look at the door, Emily crouched onto her knees and readied herself to run. The marble felt cool and smooth in her hand, even though the edges were jagged and sharp. Finally summoning the courage, Emily chucked the marble so hard it cracked the glass panel in the door. Jason whipped around but Emily was too quick; he didn't see her jump and run to the door at the end of the hall. Her hand was on the door when she looked back. The flashdrive that had been in her back pocket had fallen out sometime between her scooting over to Hanna and back. Emily dove across the hallway and clutched it in her hand, but she wasn't quick enough to avoid Jason. His hand squeezed her arm so tightly Emily was sure it would fall off; the other hand had her by the hair, pulling her down to the ground with such an intense, blinding pain that Emily surrendered completely. She had just enough time to stuff the drive in her pocket and pray that Jason didn't see her.

"Emily Fields," he was talking through gritted teeth. He didn't sound angry though. Jason sounded pleased, which above all scared Emily the most. Emily let out a tiny squeak but Jason's hand caught her mouth before she could yell for her friends. He dragged her into his bedroom and locked the door with one quick flick of his finger. His fingers still clutching Emily's hair, he flung her to the mattress on the other side of the room. Emily's shoulder hit the hard wall and she groaned in pain. She had already injured that spot in swimming just a few weeks before. "What do I owe this pleasure? No, don't answer that." He walked to the dresser Emily and Hanna had examined only twenty minutes ago. He pulled out several pairs of old stretched socks and walked back to Emily. She had found the strength to struggle now, and she had curled herself up into a tiny protective ball on the corner of the mattress. Jason struggled to pull her straight so he could tie her hands behind her back with one of the socks, but much sooner than Emily had hoped, her hands were helpless. He double knotted the sock so tightly that the circulation was being cut off from Emily's wrists. She wriggled. Her phone was pressed against her leg in her jean pocket. "Are your friends here, too?" he asked, a smile creeping on his face. "That's okay, though. Ian will be over in a few minutes. He'll be really excited to see his sister-in-law." Jason stuffed another sock in Emily's mouth. The smell and the bulk both made her choke. Tears brimmed her eyes. "You know Ali laid there once," Jason was looking out the window. He had pulled back some of the newspaper in order to look out at a dark Rosewood. "A couple times, actually. I brought that mattress back here for a reason. Sentimental value, you know."

Emily struggled against her bindings and tried rolling herself off the bed. Jason only walked over and picked her back up, not caring how hard he thrust her against the bed.

"You know, of course. That's why you're here. You've figured it out. Congratulations," he knelt down next to her on the bed. He wasn't on the mattress, but his legs were pushed up against it and Emily could feel his breath against her cheek as he knelt down to whisper in her ear. "She was twelve when I first got her into bed," he husked. "Mom and dad had gone on a trip to Hawaii for their anniversary. Left me home to watch little _perfect _Allison." Emily was sucking in as much air as she could through her nose. She felt like she could hyper ventilate at any moment. "The little bitch got everything. She got the biggest room because she was a _girl. _She had our dad wrapped around her little finger." He let his voice immitate Ali's; whiney and girly. "Daddy, I need a new purse. Daddy, I need new slutty clothes that show off my perfect little stomach and my perfect little boobs. Daddy, daddy, daddy." His voice went back to normal. "But I got what I wanted in the end. I got _her,_" He stood up and dug through his drawer again. Somewhere downstairs, Emily knew the girls were standing around waiting for her. They had to know by now that something bad was happening. Ian would be here any minute if Jason was telling the truth. _Get out of here, _Emily thought desperately. _Just go get help. _

Jason came back to her side with a sly grin on his face. He wiped his hair back behind his ear; it was very long now, and as he leaned across her again to pull something from behind the mattress, it swiped across Emily's face. Emily shut her eyes tightly, hoping that it was all a nightmare. Her eyes flung open though when she felt Jason straddle her legs. He was sitting on top of her now, leaning up and staring straight into her terrified brown eyes.

"Yeah, she looked like that the first time too." he whispered, his tongue coming down and licking the side of her face. "So did you find my videos, Emily? Do you have them? I really miss watching them. I didn't want to kill her. None of us did. She was such a good lay," he groaned as he pressed himself against Emily. She could feel something hard against her leg and she shuttered. Emily whimpered and struggled away, but he pressed his hands firmly against her shoulders. "I couldn't find it. I tore this house apart. Do you have it? Do you have my videos, Emily Fields?" Emily shook her head. Jason laughed and looked away for a moment. Then, he brought his hand to her face. It traveled down and tickled her neck, then dove down the front of her shirt and his fingers wiggled between her breasts. Emily squirmed more. "Did you hide it there? No, I don't feel it. You're soft, though. Just as soft as she was..." His hand reappeared and traced down her arms. He let them slip under her shirt and press against Emily's firm stomach. Jason traced against the outline of her bra, too. "Nope, not there." He kissed her cheek again. Emily tore her face away. "Play with me, Emily. Don't fight." Jason wasn't smiling anymore as he unbuttoned Emily's pants. "Maybe the flashdrive is here," He stuck his hand down her pants and down her underwear, feeling around. Emily kicked and screamed through the sock stuck in her mouth, tears pouring down her eyes. Emily bucked against him and tried rolling to the side but he had her so tightly pushed down that she barely budged. He brought his hand back out and smiled at her. "So where is it, Emily?" He began unzipping his own pants. "Where is it?" Emily cried more. Jason grabbed her shirt and yanked her up holding her as close to his face as he could. The shirt ripped and stretched. When he threw her back down onto the mattress, her head smacking hard against the wall, Jason stood and walked to his dresser. He pulled out a laptop and sat down on the floor. Emily was relieved that he chose to sit away from her. Downstairs, Emily heard the door open. She wasn't sure if it was the girls or Ian. While Ian was preoccupied with his laptop, Emily tried looping her fingers through the sock to untie it. It was difficult without alerting Jason of what she was doing. He stood up too quickly though and she abandoned her efforts. Jason took the sock from her mouth and Emily began gulping in fresh air. He looked down to examine her, and his eyes seemed to smile. His hand dove into her pocket and pulled out the flash drive.

"Now why didn't you just tell me?" he laughed.

"You're scum," Emily spat. "You raped and killed your own sister."

"No, I never killed her." he stuck the flashdrive into his computer. "That was Melissa or Ian. I was just there," Jason shrugged.

"So why come back to Rosewood?" she asked. "You could have gotten away with it. No one would have suspected you. We definitely wouldn't have," Emily thought of the girls who were possibly still in the house. "We suspected Ian."

"And if Ian got arrested he could rat me out." Jason looked at her as though she were stupid. "He was there all summer. We sat exactly where you lay right now watching those stupid videos he took of you all changing and prancing around." He looked away as though remembering something in his past. "And he recorded all of you. I didn't do that. He thought I would, ah, appreciate it. Followed me around like a fucking puppy."

"Then why did Ian come back?"

"Your god damn sister," he spat. "_I have to protect Melissa, _he whined. All a bunch of bullcrap if you ask me. Knocked her up and decided he wanted to be a daddy. Your stupid friend got in the way of all that and fucked everything up for the both of us."

"Spencer was protecting Melissa. She knew Ian was dangerous."

Jason laughed out loud. "Melissa is a jealous bitch who got angry that Ian was screwing Ali. She went off in a rage and killed her," The screen flashed a couple times. "Want to see my home movies?" He crawled over to her with the laptop. Just as he hit play, Emily heard a loud scream from downstairs. It was no doubt Spencer's. Fear crept up into her throat and Emily screamed out Spencer's name, but Jason shoved her face into the mattress. There was noises downstairs, a struggle, and the sound of glass breaking. Jason hustled out of the room and ran down the steps. Emily took the time to mess with the binding on her hands. She finally felt it loosen a bit as Ian and Jason came sulking back into the room, their hands clutching Hanna, Spencer and Aria. Their eyes fell to Emily on the mattress and Hanna tried tugging away from Ian to run to Emily. Ian pushed Hanna so hard to the ground that for a second all she could see was the room spinning. Jason locked the door and they were all in the small bedroom now.

"Come here, sis." Ian took Spencer and dragged her to the bed with Emily. He pushed Emily to the side to make room for Spencer as well. Ian held them both down. It didn't take much, as Ian was so big and both the girls were much smaller. "You got the flash drive?" he looked at Jason. Jason nodded and pointed to the laptop. Ian smiled. "I win, Spencer. This time tomorrow me and Melissa will be on our way out of here. We'll send a letter to your parents apologizing for not begin able to attend your funeral, but don't worry, we'll send flowers."

"You can't kill us," Aria said from across the room. Jason had both her and Hanna by the arms. "You can't kill us without getting caught. There are four of us," she looked to her friends. "That's four bodies to hide. Four people to kill without anyone hearing," Hanna, looking nervous but trying desperately to look brave, nodded.

"Yeah. What she said."

"We'll be on a plane by the time your bodies are found," Ian hissed. He looked down at Spencer. "Our baby will know all about how its aunt murdered her best friend. How all her friends covered it up because they didn't want to get in trouble too,"

"No one will believe it," Spencer spit in Ian's eye. He hissed, covering his eye with one hand and smacking Spencer across the face with the other. His nail scraped across her cheek when it ran across and a small trickle of blood slipped down to her chin. She didn't cry though.

"I don't care if they believe it," Ian lowered himself to Spencer's face. "As long as I get Melissa and my child out of here, I could care _less _about what people think of you." Jason stretched one hand to grab the laptop while Ian held down Spencer. Jason was scrolling through the files as if checking to make sure they were what they were supposed to be. The girls heard a little bit of audio and knew he was watching one, just to make sure, and even though they knew exactly what was on the flash drive none of them could stop themselves from twitching when they heard Ali's voice through the speakers. It was unlike anything they ever heard come from her mouth; it was weak, it was quiet, it was tired. Nothing about it was Ali, but it was her voice. Emily closed her eyes but opened them when she was greeted by Alison's soft, sad face. She couldn't see the video from where she laid, but any time Emily blinked she saw Ali's scared, small face. She was only twelve when it started. Emily shuddered.

"Cinema at its finest," Jason smiled. "I have to thank you, Spencer. I'm sure this was all your idea. Without you, I never would have gotten this back." He unlinked the flash drive and wiggled it between his fingers in front of Spencer's face.

"Just explain something, Ian." Spencer said. "Before you kill us,"

"What more do you need to know?"

"What happened the night Ali died?"

"Ali got exactly what was coming to her," Jason seethed. "She took my videos and was blackmailing Ian."

"But I don't get it," Spencer tried sitting up but Ian pushed her back down, holding her by the throat. "If Ali was being _used _by you," her eyes narrowed at Jason. "Why blackmail Ian into a relationship? She didn't even need to."

"I never loved that slut," Ian said. "I love Melissa. I mean, Ali was hot. But I love Melissa. When she found those tapes I took of all of you, I couldn't let Melissa find out. So I did her. Big deal."

"But why would she want a relationship with you?" Ian's hold on Spencer's neck tightened.

"Why wouldn't she?"

"N-no." Spencer choked out. "Ali knew what she was doing. She was _using _you. That drives you crazy, doesn't it?" she coughed, trying to find some fresh air. "She had the tapes already, she could have told at any point." Spencer coughed some more. "Jason was screwing around with Ali the whole time. She thought the ultimate revenge was to sleep with his best friend. It freed her. She didn't _want _you, Ian. She needed you."

"Stop!" Hanna yelled. "Stop, you're choking her!" Spencer's face was turning red now and she was having trouble breathing. Ian let go a bit, but didn't let his eyes wander. Spencer looked right at him as well.

"What does she mean you were screwing Ali?" Ian turned to look at Jason. "You were screwing your sister?"

"That's what these are," Jason waved the flash drive in front of Ian's face. "Come on, man. You honestly didn't realize that's what I've been looking for?"

"I thought they were copies of the tapes I took!" he yelled. "Those are the only things incriminating me! You told me there was another copy!"

"Don't get your panties in a bunch, Thomas. There are a few files on here of yours. We have them now. We're fine." Jason turned to Hanna and Aria, both of whom were at some point pushed to the ground and forgotten. They sat huddled together, Hanna nursing her throbbing head and Aria looking as though she was going to vomit any second. Ian was still hovering over Spencer, whose color hadn't returned to her cheeks. Emily had dry tear stains on her cheeks but her eyes were no longer wet; no, in fact, hidden behind her eyes was a look of pure determination that Hanna recognized even from across the room. Ian and Jason were far too lost in their own worlds to notice. There were four girls here now, not just one, and Ian was so focused on terrifying Spencer that he seemed to completely forget Emily was even there on the bed as well. Jason was hurrying around the room collecting items and putting them in his bag. They all watched, all but Ian and Spencer who were too engrossed in their stare off, as Jason collected the laptop, the flash drive, an old notebook and a box that looked heavy. He stuffed them all in a ratty old backpack. "Fuckin' Ali," he muttered as he pulled a small handgun from his bag and hooked it in his front pocket. "Still screwing up my life even after she's dead."

Aria and Hanna both had their eyes fastened on the gun sticking from his pocket. Emily, still tied with hands behind her back, hadn't noticed it.

"How could you do it?" Aria had tears in her eyes. "Rape your own sister? _Kill _her?" Jason turned to look at her as if he was seeing her for the first time.

"Ali stuck her nose in things that she shouldn't have,"

"It seems you stuck some things in places _you _shouldn't have," Hanna said cooly. Jason smiled, not put off by the comment. He knelt down in front of Hanna and toyed with the gun in his pocket.

"I remember," Jason put the head of the gun to his lips and pretended to think. "Hefty Hanna, right? Isn't that what Ali used to call you? Yeah, you always had a mouth on you." He let the gun trace Hanna's frame. "You all should know just as well as I do that Ali was a little bitch." he sneered, looking from Aria back to Hanna. "She was always taking my stuff. Trying to get in with my friends," Jason stood up and put the gun back in his pocket, much to the relief of Hanna and Aria. "That night that you all had the sleepover was supposed to be _my _night," he went back to his dresser and was pulling things into his bags. Socks, shirts, a couple pairs of jeans – Spencer finally tore her eyes away from Ian to look at her friends across the room, their arms tied around their backs completely helpless. Ian stood off her and began helping Jason. "Melissa called telling me Ali went stalking off into the woods. It was the perfect opportunity, you know. I'd always to to, ah, be adventurous. But I found Ian there waiting to make a movie, just like Melissa. Little shit has a temper," he laughed, nodding at Ian. Ian didn't smile. In fact, his face hardly broke at all. "Went all piss angry on Ali. Kind of funny, really. We were all drunk as fuck."

"So it was an accident?"

"Probably," Jason shrugged. "I don't know who did it. We all started fucking around with her. It just got too out of control. Ali said some cock-and-bull story about how her and Ian were fucking around every night and Melissa lost it. Grabbed her by the throat and didn't let go." It didn't even phase Jason that he was talking so nonchalantly about his sisters murder.

"So Melissa killed Ali?" Spencer struggled to sit up. Jason just nodded. Ian, however, tore from where he was standing and picked Spencer up by the front of her shirt. Her feet dangled just ever so slightly about the ground.

"You finally figured it out. Don't you feel smart?" he spat. "But guess what baby sis? I'm not letting you ruin her life. That's what I've been trying to do all along is _protect _her. We could have been a family, you know. If you and your god damn friends would have stopped meddling. If you would have just sat back like a good little girl and _moved on with your life,_" Ian threw Spencer onto the hard wood floor face down. Aria, Emily and Hanna all shrieked in protest, but Ian continued his tirade against his sister-in-law. His foot collided with one giant thrust against Spencer's ribs, and when he bent down to pick her up under her armpits, he gave her one sharp smack across the face. "My kid could have had an aunt. But no, you had to find out what happened to your stupid slut of a friend."

Spencer, through blood trickling from her mouth, hissed out: "Ali didn't deserve to die. She didn't _deserve _to be raped by her own brother or murdered by her best friends sister. She was just a kid." Just as Ian got ready to deliver a blow to Spencer, Jason stopped him. He pushed Ian's fist away and Spencer dropped to the floor like some doll, her breathing slow and uneven.

"Don't kill her," his eyes narrowed, looking at the other girls. "Not yet. I don't want to leave that mess in the house." Ian looked back at Spencer. "Besides, we could have a little fun while they're still here and alive." Jason's eyes looked over to where Emily still lay, her entire body shaking. "You know, Ali told me a lot about you." He sat down on the bed again. "Your kisses. Your touches. Did she ever touch you like this?"

"_Stop," _Hanna hissed from across the room. Jason's head snapped to the blonde, but his hand wasn't moved from Emily's thigh.

"Jealous, are we?"

Emily couldn't think of anything but Maya as Jason turned back to her and once again climbed above her. His fingers felt like hard, sharp metal nails scraping against her skin. The way his calloused hands rubbed against her fine, smooth cinnamon skin should have been illegal; it felt so wrong and disgusting. All Emily wanted to do was hide in a shower for days, maybe months, and scrub herself clean until she was pink and raw. Hanna and Aria shouted from across the room but Emily couldn't hear them; Ian was busy with Spencer doing very similar, if not identical, things to her as Jason was doing to Emily. Emily saw from the corner of her eye Hanna scoot her bottom across the floor towards Ian ready to kick as hard as she could with her feet but Ian was much quicker. He slammed her hard against the wall.

Jason, unbuckling his belt now, gave a tiny, haughty groan as the belt sagged to the side of his jeans. Emily took the opportunity that she had been waiting for since the attention had been pulled away from her. She looked to the girls on the floor and saw how loosely tied their hands were. If they tried hard enough, it wouldn't be too difficulty to pull away. Emily knew they were too frightened by the gun still strapped at Jason's side to do anything serious. Spencer was crying now under the weight of Ian. He hadn't yet rolled down his jeans, but his quick, messy kisses against her bruised throat where his hands had just minutes ago been strangling her seemed to send her spiraling into hysterics. Emily wasn't very religious, but in her final moments of weighing the pros and cons of her decision, she prayed to whatever God there was that she would succeed. With all the energy she could muster, Emily whipped her knee up and kicked Jason as hard as she possibly could in the groin. The pocket knife she had previously stuffed in her back pocket had been cutting through the sock knot against her wrist, knicking the skin on her back several times, for however long it had been since Ian had showed up in the room. She brought her freshly freed hands forward and, with Jason doubled over in pain, stabbed him straight in the stomach. Aria, who had only seconds to realize what was going on, dove forward before Ian could put a handle on the situation and kicked the small handgun from Jason's waist band. It had gone too far for any of the girls to grab, but Spencer hoisted Ian off of her and struggled to stand up straight. Their hands – Hanna, Aria and Spencer's – were still tied behind their back and although their balance was slightly off they had no problem running, even if it was in small stumbles.

"_Run,_" Emily yelled. They didn't wait for any more directions. Aria and Hanna were out the door in seconds. Spencer was right behind them, struggling a bit more than the other girls. Her pants were hanging loosely at her hips. Ian didn't know whether to chase them or help Jason who was laying on the floor, still entirely conscious but in unbearable pain. Finally he decided to chase the three girls who had already left the room, having completely forgotten Emily. She dove for the backpack that the laptop was in and ripped the flash drive from its socket. Just as she turned to run from the room and follow the other girls down the stairs into the kitchen, a cold, moist hand grabbed her ankle and tore her back on the ground. Jason, still gasping for breath, looked more deadly than she had seen him that entire night. The small pocket knife that Emily had stabbed him with was held unsteadily in his hand. Though he was weak, he still managed to hold her arm down against the ground. The knife cut into her arm. A long, searing pain rolled through Emily. She cried out hoping and praying that someone in the outside world could hear her. She didn't even know if the girls got away from Ian. They suddenly seemed so far away from Rosewood; further than Elmhold, further maybe even than across an ocean. Emily rolled the best she could and pushed Jason off her. Ignoring the pain and blood gushing from her shoulder, Emily stood and made to run to the door. Jason stood though too. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Please don't," Emily cried. "Please. Just let me go."

"For fucks sakes, you whine more than Ali." At first Emily thought that he was leading her back to the bed, but guided her body to the window where he tore all the newspaper down. "Look around, Emily Fields. Look at your town. Look at Rosewood. It's the last fucking time you'll see any of it. At least you'll be with Ali, right?" Emily twisted away and tore as fast as she could out the door. It surprised Jason; he wasn't expecting her to over power him. But Jason was just as fast or slow as Emily – it wasn't really a matter of speed, but whose injuries were slowing who down more. He reached her just as she reached the main staircase. With one easy thrust, Jason pushed her. Emily, her ankle already twisted and swelling from some fall during the night, felt her entire body hit every step on the way down. Her arms, her legs, her head, everything – it was on fire. _She _was on fire.

The world darkened around her. It wasn't a quick, wishful blackout. No, it was slow and painful. Emily could hear as Jason slowly took the steps down to visit her motionless body. Emily was in too much pain to move or to run anymore.

_Thump, thump, thump._

And then, when the last of the living room had stopped spinning and her eyes finally gave up, she heard the slamming of a door and someone scream _"Rosewood Police!"_.

Emily let her eyes close and the world black out around her. She said goodbye to Rosewood just like Jason had told her to do.

**Sorry. A very close family member was hospitalized. She has cancer and it got worse. I've been spending time with her. I didn't want to go back to writing this until I could focus and give you something all of you deserve. Please review and let me know what you think. This is extra long – over 10,000 words – and I'm interested to see if you like it. It changed from what I originally intended but I think I'm okay with it.**

**UPDATE JULY 9TH, 2011**

**I've decided to start a forum called the PRETTY LITTLE CHALLENGES. There are loads of times where I can't find the story I want to read and it disappoints and depresses me. I can't be the only one out there. So from now on, I will be taking requests and writing what YOU want to read. Just send me a PM or post on the forum here: .net/topic/94140/45315877/1/**

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**I'll try and get your story up within 1 to 2 weeks. Add me as an author alert to make sure that you know when I post something new. In the description or inside of the story, I'll have your username so you know it is yours. More likely than not your username will be in bold on the first chapter. All these stories will be one-shots unless you give me something to go on that can be fleshed out. I want your experience on this site to be great and I wanted to be challenged. So give me your weird, give me your crazy, give me all you got. I'm a little hesitant to do AU or Crossover, but I'm a little bit more open to crossover than I am to AU. The show has to be something I watch though, obviously.**


	15. Hope Is All We Have

Spencer slid down into her own hospital bed. They had admitted her as well; Ian had broken one of her ribs and she had significant bruising all along her abdomen. Aria and Hanna, seemingly untouched, sank into the less than comfortable hospital chairs that were sitting between the two injured girls beds. Emily was in an undisturbed, possibly permanent sleep. Maya was curled in Emily's arm and although her eyes were shut Hanna knew that Maya was only pretending to sleep. A thin line of tears clung to her eyelashes like soldiers ready to charge. Hanna turned to Aria who, just like Hanna, looked tired and broken. They had sustained the fewest injuries but the weight of their friends new medical problems took a toll on their scratched and bruised bodies. The Hastings hadn't yet flown in from their business trip and Emily's mom couldn't be reached. Ms. Marin and the Montgomery's were on their way.

"Emily will wake up, right?" Spencer's voice was strained and her breathing was labored. "This is my fault," she winced. "This is all my fault."

"Spencer, please stop. Talking must hurt. Please," Hanna took Spencer's hand. "We're all okay. Emily will wake up." she shot a look at Maya, whose eyes kept flittering open only long enough to check where the other girls were sitting. "Just go to sleep."

"I-"

"Hey," Aria moved to Spencer's bedside and brushed some hair from her face. "Smile."

"Why would I smile?"

"You'll sleep better." Both Hanna and Spencer stared at Aria. "That's what my dad used to say. Smile before bed. You'll sleep better. Just go to sleep, Spencer. Hanna and I are going to go see if your parents are here." she squeezed Spencer's hand and, after waiting for the smallest smile to cross Spencer's lips, walked away with Hanna. Maya's hand slipped into Aria's and pulled her back.

"Please tell me what happened."

"Maya-"

"Why won't she wake up?"

"She hit her head," muttered Hanna. "Jason. He pushed her down the stairs,"

"Were you the one that called the cops?" Aria asked. Maya shook her head. None of the girls had time to call the police. Aria bit her lip. No one else knew that they went to the DiLaurentis' that night. "Did you tell anyone where we went?"

"No," Maya slid down onto the floor and put her head in her lap. "I wish I had. Maybe Emily-"

"Please don't blame yourself. It won't do any good. Emily won't wake up because you blame yourself."

"There's my mom," Hanna pointed. Mrs. Marin looked torn between hysteria and relief at seeing her daughter. Aria never thought she would see the day that Ashley Marin left the house without a perfectly done up face. Hanna left Maya and Aria and went to her mom who burst into tears the second her arms wrapped around Hanna's thin frame. Aria wondered how long she would have before Byron and Ella made their way to the room. She thought of Ezra and wondered if calling him would be the best idea. Surely by now the city of Rosewood was awake and gossiping; the sirens had to have woken the whole town up. Small towns create big gossip. Ezra could possibly already know.

"Maya," Aria sat down next to her on the floor. "Emily will wake up. She has to."

"I _love _her."

Aria took a deep breath. "We found the videos. Emily and Hanna did, actually. We split into two and they took the upstairs. We were about to leave when Hanna remembered she left something upstairs. Once we were up there, Jason came home. Emily figured she could outrun him, if any of us. So the three of us took the other stairs that led into the kitchen and Emily threw something so he would go upstairs so we could get out downstairs. I don't know what happened. She must have gone back for something, because there is no way that Emily is that slow. But Jason got her, and then Ian got us. When Ian took us upstairs Emily was on a bed tied up."

"She wasn't-"

"I don't think so."

"But would he have?"

Biting her lip, Aria paused. "Maybe." she paused again. "He raped his sister. I don't think there is a line for Jason. And Ian, he went after Spence. That's why..."

"The bruises, the ribs."

"Yeah."

"Are you okay?"

Aria scoffed. "Better than them," she said. "Ian and Jason ignored us, mostly. Ian was so... I don't even have a word for it. Determined? He was determined to hurt Spencer. It was horrifying. I didn't think," she had to stop again. A few tears crept from her eyes. "I wasn't sure-" she buried her face in her hands and began to sob. Maya wrapped her arms around Aria, whose body was shaking so badly that even Maya shook slightly. They rocked back and forth ignoring the looks from passing nurses and police officers who were roaming around the hospital hallways more for appearances than protection of the girls. Doctors had forbidden them to be questioned until they were medically cleared, and although Aria and Hanna were technically fine, neither girl could be questioned without a parent.

"It's going to be okay," Maya cried with Aria now. At first she thought it was only Aria's tears but soon she realized that she too was sobbing without shame. Their salty tears mixed into one, forming more than just a stream of sadness but also a new friendship that wasn't there before. Together on the floor of the Rosewood Memorial Hospital the two shared something more than a good cry; in their tears were their fears, their most personal fears, and as they untangled their arms and wiped their eyes the world seemed a little less scary because they both knew that someone else felt what they were feeling.

Aria stood first and helped Maya up. They smiled at each other, their eyes darting awkwardly away from each other. "Thanks,"

"Thanks." Maya repeated.

"Aria!" Byron and Ella, both looking very frazzled, sped from the hospital doors over to where Maya and Aria were standing. Byron got to Aria first and wrapped her in a hug while Ella, noticing Maya, hugged her. It caught Maya off guard but she reciprocated, not forgetting to give the worried mother an appreciative smile after. The parents switched sides and Ella hugged her daughter while Byron gave Maya a hug. "What happened? Where-"

"Mom, please. Not now."

"Now would be a great time." From the door came the voice of a very tall, very gangly police officer with a surly smile and wrinkles around his eyes. His hair was a dark raven and light freckles dotted his tanned cheeks. He brought his hand up and flashed his badge and didn't take much time to look at anyone in the room. "Officer Petez." Ella warily shook his hand. "If you two don't mind, I would like to speak with Aria and Hanna," he nodded to Hanna, who had walked over with her mom. "-about what happened tonight."

"No disrespect officer," said Byron. "But I would like to know what happened before _you _know what happened. This is my daughter."

"Sir-"

"It's okay," said Hanna. "We'll answer your questions." The parents turned to look at Hanna. She looked tired and worn, and even though Aria understood that Hanna just wanted to be done with the questions she wasn't sure if they had all the answers that they would need. The officer shuffled them into a private conference room that doctors usually use to speak with families. Aria and Hanna took their seats while their parents stood behind them. Both Ella and Byron had hands on Aria's shoulder as if they were too afraid they would lose her if they let go.

"You entered the DiLaurentis home this evening illegally, you realize that?" Petez turned on a tape recorder.

"Hold on a minute," Ashley Marin said hotly. "Do we need a lawyer?"

"I don't _care _anymore!" screamed Hanna abruptly. She stood up and kicked back her chair. "I don't fucking care. I almost just saw my two best friends get raped. We were hit and tied up and Ian and Jason were going to kill us. Emily is in a fucking _coma _and Spencer is like a fucking plum. You really think I care that we broke into Jason's house? I don't care. I don't _care._" Tears streamed down her face. Aria stood up and tried grabbing Hanna's hand but she yanked it away. "We broke into Jason's house to look for the tapes that he and Ian made. They made tapes of all of us. Alison, Emily, Spencer, Aria and me. We're naked in some of them. He was standing outside our windows with cameras. And Jason? He was raping Ali on a daily basis. A _daily fucking basis. _In all of your police work how did you never figure out that Jason was a child molester? That he was a _rapist? _Jesus christ," Hanna was pacing. Several attempts by everyone in the room to calm her down were pushed away; even the officer looked too worried at this point to touch Hanna. "You've been trying to solve Ali's murder for three years and you never came across that information?"

"Hanna-"

"No, Aria." Hanna pushed Aria away. "This is a fucking joke. You're all a joke. What good is a police department if you can't even solve a murder? Where is Emily's stuff? Did you take it? Go get it. You'll find the flash drive. There are videos on it. If you can't understand them don't worry we'll explain it to you. I guess we've figured out that you're all a bunch of good for nothing morons. It's Jason raping his little sister. You know, the murdered one? Alison DiLaurentis? Her. _Her!_" Hanna grabbed the officers folder that had a picture of Alison in it and thrust it in his face so close that it was touching the brim of his nose.

"That's enough, Hanna!" It was Aria who finally grabbed Hanna's shoulders and shook her into a silence. The entire room was quiet. Hanna and Aria looked at each other for a few moments, only long enough so that Hanna could recognize where she was again, and then as the anger washed over her Hanna collapsed into Aria's tired arms. She wasn't crying. Hanna took in long, slow breaths and exhaled into Aria's torn and dirtied black shirt. Aria rubbed Hanna's back and looked up at the officer who, clearly frazzled from Hanna's sudden outburst, was looking mixed between anger and shock. He collected the various items he had placed on the table and nodded to the adults in the room.

"Another time, then."

"Jason raped Ali?" Tears formed in the crevices of Ms. Marin's eyes. "You girls were telling the truth about Ian. We-"

"-I'll kill him." hissed Byron. "Did he touch you?" he yelled at Aria.

"Dad, I'm fine. Emily-"

"I need to call Pam." Ella began fiddling with her phone.

"No, wait. The police-" But Ella was already dialing. Ms. Marin had stood up and began pacing the tiny conference room. Byron looked ready to kill and he avoided all of their eyes. The only time he looked up was when Aria's phone jingled obnoxiously from her pocket. She pulled it out, avoiding her father's eyes, and opened the text message that she had been dreading all night.

_You may have gotten rid of Ian and Jason, but don't forget that I'm still here. I know everything and I have the police on speed dial. -A_

Aria took Hanna in her arms again and rested with her head atop Hanna's. The two sat in tense silence with their parents, their heads spinning, wondering just how the rest of the world could still be functioning when theirs was crumbling in front of them.

* * *

><p>"Aria, you need to get some sleep."<p>

Ella looked frantic. Byron didn't look much better. They had both been sitting in the hospital waiting room since they arrived pacing back and forth and taking turns peeking in on Emily. Pam hadn't been able to get a flight until tomorrow morning. The storms in Texas were grounding all planes. And even though they looked as though they were ready to pass out themselves, neither of them could stop glancing anxiously over at their daughter to make sure that she was still there. Still alive, really. Breathing. Even Ms. Marin was sitting with a nervous, ready to pounce face. Hanna and Aria rested uncomfortably on a chair together next to Emily's bed. Maya, who still hadn't left Emily's bedside, was occupying the other.

"I don't want to leave Emily."

"You can come back tomorrow." Byron wiped his eyes. "We'll stay here with Emily. Ashley," he turned to look at Ms. Marin. "You could take the girls home? Maybe check on Mike too. We'll stay here with Emily until Pam can get here."

"I can't leave her." Hanna insisted.

"We can't leave each other," corrected Aria.

"Girls." Ella put a hand on each of their shoulders. "I need someone to check on Mike. God forbid he get into any more trouble," The flashback of Mike being escorted home by their parents after being arrested for breaking and entering fluttered into Aria's mind. Aria had found the art piece Jenna worked on at Hollis in Mike's room. They could no longer trust Garrett, their "friend" at the police station, and the idea that Aria essentially helped Mike continue his crime spree made her feel horribly guilty. Aria stood and grabbed Hanna's hand.

"They're right." she muttered. "C'mon."

"I don't know..."

"Tomorrow we'll get here right away. If anything changes-" Byron interrupted Aria.

"You will be the first to know. Goodnight girls."

"Maya?" Maya looked up at Aria. "You could stay with us tonight. If you wanted, of course." Maya, her eyes finally dry of tears, looked at the parents in the room and shook her head.

"If you don't mind I would like to stay here."

Ella just nodded.

Hanna was asleep on Aria's shoulder by the time they pulled from the hospital parking lot. She thought about texting Ezra and filling him in on what happened, but the idea of talking about all this over text made her even more tired than she already was. The town would surely be talking about it in the morning but Aria was hopeful it would never reach Ezra's ears. He lived just on the edge of town and most of his time was spent in his apartment watching television or writing.

Ms. Marin's car pulled up in Aria's driveway. Sliding carefully out from under Hanna, she promised to only be a few minutes to collect some clothes and try and bribe Mike into coming with them to Hanna's. The foyer was dark when she walked in the house. There wasn't any noise coming from the kitchen, where Mike usually scrounged for food when the rest of them were gone, and the hallway light upstairs seemed to be off. It made Aria shudder. Most houses in Rosewood were modeled the same. There were some aspects of her own that reminded her vaguely of the DiLaurentis'. Her skin itched with aprehension, but Aria climbed her stairs and flicked on a light in the hallway. Mike's door, closed as usually, didn't even have the crack of light coming from the bottom.

"Mike?" she yelled. "Look, mom and dad wants us to stay at the Marin's tonight." Aria knocked on his door. The door wasn't properly closed and it squeaked open. With just one quick glance over her shoulder, Aria ventured into her brothers room for the second time in just a few weeks. It hadn't changed much. She opened the closet and Emily's camping equipment that Mike had stolen was still spread out across the floor. She found the vase that he had taken from Garrett's apartment that Jenna made. Aria thought back to what he had told her he took that night and wondered why, after taking a camera and a gps, would he take some silly art? Even if he did think it was worth something, it wouldn't have been much. She glanced out the window at Ms. Marin's running car. She wasn't a patient woman. Aria went to close the closet when a camera with a long scope caught her eye. "Pretty pricey camera," she muttered to herself. Aria fumbled with the switches but didn't turn it on. She merely examined the long zoom scope and the features on the knobs. For a police officer it seemed like a pricey piece of equipment and it wasn't department issued. "Can't take the heat get out of the kitchen." Aria said aloud as she picked up the camera, closed the closet door and walked back into her room. Mike wouldn't like that the camera went missing but he couldn't very well go tattling to their parents that his stolen item was stolen. Deciding that she could just wear something of Hanna's, Aria simply grabbed her tooth brush from the bathroom and scribbled a note to Mike.

"No Mike?" Ms. Marin asked when Aria got back into the car.

"Not home," she shrugged.

"It's awfully late."

Aria looked over at Hanna who was groggily wiping her eyes.

"I left a note."

"I'll still give your mother a call when we get home,"

"Mmm," Aria hummed. Through her bag she could feel the scope of the camera. What was on the memory card? What was Garrett taking pictures of?

"Aria?"

"Yeah?"

"Is my daughter okay?" Ms. Marin chanced a look back at Hanna who had fallen back asleep. "That outburst..."

"We've been through a lot. Hanna will be fine. We're all fine." _I hope, _thought Aria.

* * *

><p><strong>I had to slide in a little bit about the past episode in order to make the story fit right again. It actually helps me in the long run. Only about two chapters left. Family comes first. Sorry this is so late. <strong>


	16. Hello, Goodbye

"Pancakes?" Ms. Marin offered the plate to Aria, who shook her head, and then to Hanna. It wasn't often that Ashley Marin cooked breakfast. In fact, Hanna couldn't remember the last time that she did. But the smell of maple syrup and sausage had wafted up the staircase to Hanna's bedroom waking both she and Aria up. Neither of them got much sleep, though. They had laid awake most of the night bathing themselves in restless silence. When Hanna finally rolled over to sleep just an hour before they woke up again and took their places at the breakfast table, Aria pulled her phone out and punched in Emily's number. She had never wanted to talk to her best friend so badly before. "You girls need to eat something before you go to the hospital."

Hanna speared a sausage and took a mouse bite. "Happy?"

"No," she sighed. "But I'll give you girls a few minutes to get ready and then we'll go."

Aria followed Hanna upstairs to her bedroom. She had nearly forgotten about the camera that she took from Mike's room until she began digging through her bag for her tooth brush. "Hanna?" she muttered. Hanna looked up from her bed. Dark circles pressed underneath her eyes. "I have something."

"What?"

"The camera," she said. "From Garrett's apartment."

Hanna dropped her mirror and stared at Aria. "For serious? You took it from Mike's room?"

"He wasn't up there," said Aria quietly. "It was just sitting there. I couldn't not take it."

"So what's on it?"

"I haven't looked yet."

"Well go on, then. Look."

Aria looked at the camera with hesitation. "Do we really want to know?" Hanna gave her the best _duh _look Aria had ever seen. "I mean, this could be it. We might have found A. Should we wait for Emily and Spencer to get better?"

"Are you stupid?" Hanna stood up and crossed the room to where Aria was holding the camera. "Give it here," she tugged and it didn't take much for Aria to release it. "We don't know when Emily is going to wake up and right now I think they only way we can help her is figuring all this stuff out, right? I mean, if we figure out who A is, maybe we can destroy the video of her and Maya doing the nasty."

"You've got such a way with words."

"It's a gift."

"I don't know, Han."

"Why did you take the camera then?"

Aria bit her lip. "I don't know. It seemed like a good idea. I'm just... I don't want anymore trouble, you know? Spence and Em are already in the hospital." Hanna put her hand on Aria's shoulder.

"Aria, I think we're at the point of no return." She didn't wait for Aria to respond. Her finger pressed the on button. The camera flickered to light and as soon as it had properly loaded Hanna flipped through all the buttons until she came across the memory. Her heart sank a little with every picture she scanned. The first was of Aria at her locker just the previous week. The next was Hanna and Emily singing in her car. The few after that were all of Spencer at the store, at school and at field hockey practice. Aria swallowed hard as Hanna came across a picture of Ezra and Aria embracing at Hollis.

Aria sat down on the bed as she began to get dizzy. "This is crazy," she mumbled mostly to herself. "I mean, I knew we were being watched. I just..."

"-never thought about it like this?"

"Yeah," Aria's mouth felt dry. "Exactly."

"At least now we have proof that we aren't crazy. This camera can be traced back to Garrett. We got A. It's going to be over soon."

"Hanna, no. We can't turn this camera in."

"Are you on something?"

"Mike stole this! We'll get him in trouble!"

"You can't sit there and defend your little brother, Aria. He's been breaking and entering into all these homes and stealing stuff. He could have really hurt you that night at Spencer's."

"That doesn't stop me from caring about him," Aria snatched the camera from Hanna. "I'm not going to turn my brother in."

"Okay, whatever. So we won't tell them we got the camera from Mike."

"So... they'll just think we stole it out of Garrett's apartment? Brilliant, sticky fingers."

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that." Aria gave her a sarcastic nod. "Well, we found it then. It was mailed to us anonymously. That happens all the time in movies. Aria we cannot just let this opportunity pass us by. We have to do this for Emily, at least."

"I didn't see a video on there." she pointed out. "We don't have the copy of Emily's tape."

"But if we lock Garrett up, he can't send it out. It's over."

"You don't know that."

"We don't know anything, Aria. But at this point I'll take anything over nothing." Hanna let the camera drop into her purse and she yanked on a boot. "We need to get to the hospital." Aria stood in the middle of the room helplessly staring at her best friend. She looked upset and confused. Above all, Aria looked scared. If Hanna was scared, she wasn't showing it. She had on her tough face and if Hanna was anything like she as the day before, she wasn't showing it. "Are you coming or not?"

"Of course I'm coming," whispered Aria. She followed Hanna down the stairs and out to the car. Ms. Marin was waiting for them and the car was already running. Looking at them both anxiously, she put the car in reverse and pulled out.

The entire car ride was silent.

PLL

The hospital room was brighter than the night before. Shades were pulled back and sunlight was pouring in against Emily's cinnamon skin. She looked asleep and peaceful. When Aria and Hanna walked in the room, Spencer was already awake and laying not so happily in the bed next to their other best friend. Her hand held a pen that was scribbling things out obnoxiously in the newspaper crossword. Ella and Byron were both asleep in the hospital chairs near Emily's bed. Aria smiled at her Maya. Her hand was wrapped tightly in Emily's and although she was asleep, Aria knew her hand wouldn't drop away anytime soon.

"How are you?" Aria whispered Spencer. Spencer didn't look very thrilled to answer. She pointed to her ribs, said _ow, _and went back to her puzzle. Hanna's mom came in behind them and held out a box of chocolates and a bouquet of yellow flowers to Spencer.

Spencer smiled but didn't have time to say anything. "Just get better, Spencer." Ms. Marin said, smiling. "I want _all _of my girls out of this hospital and to stay out of it."

"Thanks, Ms. Marin."

"Have your parents gotten here yet?"

"No thank goodness." Spencer put her crossword down and shuffled herself as best she could in order to sit up. Hanna helped as much as she could, her hand guiding Spencer's back, but Spencer finally admitted defeat and fell back restlessly. "I can already see my mother's face."

"They only care."

"What about Melissa?" interrupted Hanna. "Is she coming with them?" Spencer shrugged and popped open the chocolates, holding it out to each of the women in the room before placing one in her own mouth.

"Has your doctor been in to see you?" said Ms. Marin.

"This morning." replied Spencer. "I'm healing. It's nothing they can't fix," her eyes panned over to Emily.

"And her doctor?"

"They don't know."

Ms. Marin walked over as carefully as she could in order to not wake Maya, Ella or Byron. She ran a hand across Emily's forehead and swiped the hair from her face. "You poor girl," she whispered. Aria frowned and looked at Hanna who looked at Spencer. None of them ever thought of the repercussions on their parents through all of this. Ella and Byron finally began to stir and smiled when they saw Aria. Byron got up first and kissed the top of his daughters head. After Ella untangled herself from the cheap fleece hospital blanket, she gave her daughter a tight squeeze and offered to go buy them all coffee. Hanna and Aria declined, still much too tired and emotionally drained to consume much of anything, but Ashley nodded and followed her fellow parents out and down to the cafeteria.

"Did Maya ever go home?" asked Aria, looking over at the girl.

Spencer shook her head. "Hasn't left Em's side. Which is good."

"She really loves her." said Hanna drearily. "I wish she didn't."

"Hanna!" Spencer and Aria snapped.

"What?" Hanna hissed back. "It would be easier on Maya if she didn't love Emily, because if Emily doesn't wake up-"

"-she is going to wake up!" yelled Aria heatedly.

"We can't live in our fantasy worlds anymore Aria!"

"I'm not living in a fantasy-"

"_I don't want Mike to get in trouble,_" Hanna mimicked Aria's voice. "Guess what, Aria? Mike is going to get in trouble. We're all going to get in trouble. We're all already _in _trouble. Emily might not wake up and you need to accept that. We have really screwed all of this up. I think we were all so focused on who killed Ali that we weren't even trying to figure out who was attempting to kill us. We thought this whole A thing would go away and we ignored it. Now we're paying the price."

"We can't think negatively. We can't think that Emily isn't going to wake up!"

"It's not thinking negatively. It's being realistic."

"What happened to not fighting amongst each other?" Spencer tried yelling. Both Hanna and Aria ignored her.

Her body shaking, Aria angrily stormed over to Hanna and got right in her face. "That is our best friend lying in that bed!"

"What, you think I don't know that? I love Emily."

"She's going to wake up."

"Yeah, maybe she will! I _hope she does. _I don't even know what I would do without her. But you have to accept the small possibility that we're going to have to live the rest of our life without Emily. We all need to realize that A is a really slick bastard and he knows more about us than we know about him. Jason and Ian may have been the ones in that house but A was behind it. A is involved. I guarantee you."

"I'd really like you both to shut up." The voice came from the other side of the room. Hanna nearly fell over when she looked to see Emily's hand shakily pulling out of Maya's grip. Her eyes didn't open right away. Instead, Emily licked her dry lips and ran a hand through her dirty hair. When she finally did open her eyes, she looked straight at Aria and Hanna. Aria grabbed Hanna's arm, momentarily forgetting about their fight, and Spencer pushed past her pain and leaned forward in her bed. They all stared at each other. Words weren't coming very easily from their mouths. Emily, her dry lips cracking just slightly, smiled at them. "Thanks."

Maya finally began stirring. When she opened her eyes and saw Emily's looking back at her, a stream of tears streaked her cheeks. "Don't you _ever do that again._"

"I'll try not to." Emily grimaced as she tried sitting up. "I have a really bad headache."

"The stairs broke your fall," cracked Hanna. Emily smiled and waved both Aria and Hanna over. Hanna got there first and she wiggled onto the bed with her best friend, curling up into her. She shut her eyes and sighed. "Yeah, I agree with Maya. Never do that again, Em."

Aria grabbed Emily's free hand and squeezed. "My parents are going to flip when they get back up here."

"They're here?"

Scoffing, Aria smiled. "They never left last night. Neither did Maya, here." Aria and Maya exchanged a small look. "We only left because we were forced. I'm going to go get your doctor, okay? He should know that you woke up." Hanna watched carefully as Aria left to go find a nurse or doctor. She shimmied from the bed and grabbed her bag.

"Aria got the camera from Mike's room. It's Garrett's."

Emily's eyes widened. "What's on it?"

"Is this really the best time?" said Maya, looking nervously at Emily. "I mean, she just-"

Emily held her hand up to Maya. "No, I need to hear this. I'm fine, really. I just took a really long nap."

"Emily-"

"Maya-"

"Okay, stop. Both of you. Here, Em." Hanna handed Emily the camera, which she eagerly took. When she was done flipping through all the pictures she carefully set the camera down on her blanket covered legs and looked up at Hanna.

"So Garrett is A."

Hanna shrugged and picked up the camera to hand to Spencer, who had been loudly protesting the fact that she couldn't see. "Or he's just another major creep like Ian and Jason."

"Ian and Jason were pervs," said Emily. "These are stalker pictures." Goosebumps erupted on her arm. Maya sat on the edge of Emily's bed and rubbed her shoulder reassuringly. "What do we do now?"

"The cops want to talk to us. They tried yesterday, but..."

"I heard you went basket-case on them, Han." said Spencer from the other bed. "Aria's parents were talking about it when they thought I was asleep."

Hanna scowled defensively. "I didn't go all basket-case, whatever that means." she turned to Emily. "It was hard for all of us yesterday." She got up and took the camera back from Spencer, letting it drop back into her bag. Spencer laid back and frowned.

"I don't understand it though." she said. "Garrett and Jenna. This whole thing. What connection did Garrett have to Ali? How does he know all our secrets?"

"Maybe Ali was bonking him too."

"Hanna!" Spencer and Emily reprimanded.

Hanna just rolled her eyes. "Well _sorry, _but it seemed like Ali had a lot of older guys on the side and not all of it was force." Just then, an ear shattering bang echoed through the hospital hallways. Hanna jumped backward and slammed herself into the side table next to Emily's bed. Maya crawled on with Emily, her arms wrapped around the taller girl. Spencer looked anxiously between the door and her friends. Shrill screams filled their ears. Hanna cautiously got up and started walking towards the door despite Emily, Maya and Spencer's harsh protests. She fell backwards as Aria struggled in, her arms being pinned tightly behind her. At first Hanna wasn't sure she was seeing straight. She looked up at Spencer, whose mouth was also dropped.

"Hello, ladies."


	17. Bang, Bang

Hanna scrambled back on the hospital floor until her back was pressed up against Emily's bed. She looked at Aria struggling against her younger brother's strong grip. Mike slammed the door to Spencer and Emily's room shut and pinned a chair underneath the handle. Spencer was immobile in her bed and the chances of Emily leaving this room uninjured was slim to none. Maya would have to be forcibly cut from Emily's side. Looking down at herself, Hanna realized she was the only one in the room who would be able to, feasibly, get away. She didn't move.

"Mike?" gulped Emily. Aria was still fighting against him. He finally pushed her to the side, a little less roughly than Hanna imagined he would. It was almost as though he was being careful with her. A gun was still gripped tightly in his left hand. There was a smug, irritable look on his face that made Hanna's insides turn. "Mike, what are you doing?"

"Where is my camera?" he demanded. Hanna whipped her head around to look at Aria, who was still struggling to catch her breath. "Where is it?" Mike screamed again.

Hanna stood up carefully, making sure not to move too fast. "What do you mean your camera? You told Aria you stole it from Garrett's apartment."

"Of course I told her I took it from someone else," he sneered. "I knew she would go snooping."

"So you took those pictures? Of us?" asked Hanna. "Why?"

"Ali was obviously the smart one." He reached down to where Aria's bag was and dumped it on Spencer's bed. She was flinching uncomfortably. Hanna looked around desperately for where she had thrown hers; the camera was inside it, and fortunately for her, her eyes located it partially hidden under Spencer's bed where it had fallen in all the commotion. Stretching her leg out as conspicuously as possible, she kicked it back as far as it would go. "You're all idiots."

"Mike, why are you doing this?" Aria stood up and walked to her brother. "You're my brother."

"Like you care," he pushed all of Aria's items onto the floor in anger. "Where's Ezra? Why don't you go talk to your boyfriend?"

"You _know_?"

"I know everything." Mike began digging through all the drawers in the room. Boxes of tissue were thrown behind him and bottles of unopened lotion were dropped on the floor. He slammed the drawer shut and looked at them all, his eyes blazing. "Where the hell is it?" He pointed his gun at Spencer. "I want the camera."

"Mike, don't do this." Aria cried out. "Please don't do this. Spencer, she's your...she's our friend. She's my friend. Don't do this to her. Don't do this to me."

"You did this, Aria." he slid the gun into his jean pockets, turning his attention instead to the closets. "I wouldn't be here if you wouldn't have taken the camera. I was planning on leaving tonight. Finally got enough money," he yanked the few things hanging up off their hangers. The girls could hear police filing into the hospital hallway outside their door. "You just had to fuck it all up."

"You're A."

"Brilliant," he turned around and gave her a mock smile. "Really, really brilliant."

"But why? _How?_"

"Well you were easy," he nodded at Aria. "Pretty easy to bug your room, since it's right next to mine. Your car was simple. Hanna practically leaves her car open every night. Thanks for that, by the way." he smiled at her. "Slipped into all their houses at night when they were gone or sleeping. It wasn't that hard, Aria."

"If you're A, why did you send that letter to mom telling her dad cheated?"

"Why didn't you _tell her? _I just did what you should have done."

Aria shook her head, trying to gather all her thoughts. "But you were so angry with me. You've been brooding for months."

"Not about that. I was pissed that mom left, but no. I've just been trying to figure out a way to get enough money. I needed to get the hell out of here." Hanna looked back at Emily and Maya. They were both lying on the bed very still. This wasn't good for Emily; she looked ready to throw up. She had too much trauma these past few days. Mike barricading himself in their room with a gun wasn't helping her heal. She had only just woken up from her trauma coma. Aria didn't dare look away from Mike, not even for a second. Spencer was trying to steady her breathing as best as possible. Her ribs were killing her. With an uneasy step in his direction, Aria put her hand on her little brothers shoulder. He shrugged her away and pointed his gun at her shakily. "Don't make me."

"Please, Mike." begged Aria. "Just tell me what made you do this to us. You've tormented us for months. You... I'm your _sister. _I've tried helping you."

"Ali told me what all of you thought of me. She told me about mom and dad," he swung his gun around at Emily. "-how you liked girls and that's why you wouldn't kiss me." Aria furrowed her eyebrows at Emily, scraping back in her memory for a time that Emily told her Mike had tried kissing her. No memory came to mind. "-how you, _you _were such a pathetic _wimp." _Hanna stared back at Mike. "Yeah, I know. Obviously. Your little binging and purging. Oink, oink."

"Stop." warned Aria.

"Or what? You'll call mom and dad?" he laughed and looked out the window. Police cars were gathering around the building. From Emily and Spencer's room, you could see street barricades being set up.

"You're obviously not getting out of here unnoticed, Mike."

"I will. Don't worry." he turned around and began digging through the only other drawer he hadn't gone through yet. "Ali told me everything. She loved me."

Aria's mouth dropped. "You and Ali?"

"She was the only one who didn't treat me like a kid."

"Wait," Hanna couldn't wrap her head around what Mike was telling them. "Wait, you and _Ali? _Like, together?"

"What about it, hefty Hanna?"

"So why blackmail us?" asked Spencer. "And what did Ian and Jason-"

"Ian and Jason killed Ali. I didn't do that," he slammed the drawer in frustration. "I loved Ali. But Ali had a problem keeping her secrets to herself." Hanna took the split second that Mike was turned away from her to slip her hand in her pocket. She fumbled helplessly with the buttons but finally found the record button. Hanna pushed it backwards under the food tray cart next to Emily's bed, hoping that the sound would still be picked up but Mike wouldn't see it. "Jason and Ian were recording you guys. Yeah, I _know. _Ian, he, ah, took me under his wing that summer.I found out he was recording you guys. It was a big mess." Mike sauntered to the bathroom and began digging through there. His voice echoed out to them. "I figured once we moved to Iceland everything would get a little bit better. But we just had to move back,"

"So you decided to blackmail us?"

"I wanted you to know who really killed Ali. I loved her." Mike came out of the bathroom. "And using your secrets against you was only a plus. You're all so easy."

"How did you know who killed Ali?"

Mike froze. He turned and looked at Spencer for the first time. She had a typical Spencer look on her face; quizzical and questioning, with a bit of confusion. "What?"

"How did you know? If you knew all along, if you loved her so much, why not just go to the police station and tell?"

All eyes were on Mike and Spencer. Mike brushed off his shirt and looked back at her. Before he could say anything, a loud knock sounded off at the door. The heavy voice of a police officer reached inside to them. "Come on out, son." Mike just laughed it off and went over to Spencer's bed. He leaned down close enough to her face that Aria, Hanna, Emily and Maya couldn't make what he was saying. Aria slid down next to Hanna and whispered,

"I think he's having a break down."

"No shit, sherlock." hissed Hanna. "This is unbelievable."

"Don't make us use force!" the officer from outside shouted. Mike pulled away from Spencer and twirled around to see where Aria had gone. He gripped her arm and yanked her up from the floor. "This doesn't haven't to end badly."

"I'm not coming out," Mike shouted back. "And I've got my sister and all her friends in here. Don't come in, or I swear-"

"-you're not going to hurt me." said Aria defiantly. "I know you, Mike. You're better than this."

"He killed Ali," All eyes once again moved towards Spencer. "You killed her, didn't you Mike? It got to be too much for you. You saw Ali with all the guys. You found out that Jason was hurting her. You went over to their house that night, didn't you? To confront Jason. That's why you had us go after Ian and Jason. That's why you sent us clues as A, giving us information about them. You wanted Jason to pay for what he did to Ali. Am I right?"

"Shut up." warned Mike.

"Is Spencer right, Mike?" asked Aria, picking up on Spencer's idea. "You killed her. That night... did you find Ali with Ian? Ian, Melissa and Jason were shoving her around. You watched, didn't you? You were there? And when they were done with her, you took over. You waited until they were gone," Tears slipped down Aria's cheeks. "-because that night you realized that Ali _liked _using Ian. And you were in love with her,"

"Shut up!" Mike screamed, waving the gun around dangerously. Hanna shivered from the floor and raised her hand to grip Emily's. Aria scooted back and pressed herself against the wall letting her eyes only briefly connect with Spencer's.

"Was it an accident?" Hot, angry tears sprung from Mike's eyes. Aria didn't bother wiping hers away. They were flowing freely now. "You just wanted to talk, didn't you."

Spinning around on his heels and looking at his sister, Mike frowned. His bottom lip quivered. For a split second, Aria saw the little boy in Mike that she once knew and wondered where he had gone and when he had left. "I just wanted to talk."

"She was already disoriented from her fight with the other guys," offered Aria. "And you didn't realize your strength. You hit her, didn't you?" Aria tried edging forward but Mike jumped back. She backed off a little. "Did you? Did you hit her?"

"I-" stuttered Mike.

"And then you thought she was dead, so you buried her. You wanted to give her a proper burial, didn't you? Because you loved her."

Mike's voice was uneven. "I couldn't tell." he mumbled. "I loved her."

"I know." Summoning up some courage, she tried walking towards him again. He flinched momentarily and Aria stopped. "Let me help you, Mike. I love you. You're my brother. I don't know what Ali told you that we said about you," she paused. "I'll always love you. I've always loved you. Please," Aria gestured to the gun. "-just give it to me."

He looked down at his shaking hand. "Mom and dad were always so busy with you. You have a real talent for art, Aria. You're really talented. You deserved the attention."

"That doesn't mean that you weren't given attention."

"Less of it," he said dully. "-and you are the oldest and you're a girl. I got that. You were dad's little girl and mom's daughter. I was just the son."

"Mike-"

"-never got great grades, never did anything great-"

"-no, Mike-"

"-but Ali, she loved me. She told me-"

"-we all love you-"

His hand began to shake more.

"-she told me I was funny and smart. She told me things about myself-"

"-Mike, please-"

"-but she's gone now. She's gone. I killed her-" He began to crumble into hysterical sobs. Aria tried to reach forward and touch his arm but he moved so quickly backwards that he ran straight into Spencer's bed. It startled him and he propelled himself forward. Anywhere Mike moved he seemed to bump into something. He became more hysterical with every thud and every bump. The gun was shaking so fiercely in his hand. "I killed her. I killed her. I killed her." Mike raised the gun and leveled it to his temple. Aria let out a horrified shriek. From the floor, Hanna sprung forward and tackled Mike to the ground. The gun slid across the slick hospital room floor firing off one bullet that lodged itself somewhere deep within the wall. Mike was pinned underneath Hanna's body. He was still crying, his face contorted in pain and anguish. Rolling off of him, Hanna pulled Mike into her arms and rocked him back and forth. Aria shakily dropped to the ground next to him just as the door to their hospital room shattered open and a task force moved in. They pulled the two girls away from Mike and handcuffed him before anyone else in the room could protest. Hanna grabbed onto Aria's hand, sensing that the shorter girl was very much ready to collapse in a puddle of tears, and squeezed hard as the four girls watched Mike be escorted from the room by police.

Aria turned and looked at Hanna, her voice barely able to project the words. "Hanna,"

"Don't." Hanna pulled her best friend into a hug.

**Review?**

**Either one more chapter or two more chapters. You decide. I had planned on ending this story with a Maya/Emily chapter. Do you just want me to go ahead and write that one (it's partially written right now) or do you want to also see a chapter on the aftermath of Mike's arrest with all the parents and the girls?**

**Let me know!**


	18. Broken

It was as if a dam had broken and a flood of people were pouring in. Ella and Byron were first followed closely by Ashley. A sea of doctors were behind them to check out the girls. Several police offices were standing precociously at the door with their guns hanging down at their sides. Hanna let Aria flee her arms and watched as the three Montgomery's hugged. Ashley came to Hanna but she didn't hug her. She stared at her daughter, curiously at first, and kept shaking her head.

"I am so sick of this hospital," she whispered, finally pulling Hanna in. Ella and Byron had let go of their daughter and took their turns hugging Spencer, Emily and Maya. For the first time since Hanna had tackled Mike, Aria looked over to Emily. She was pale and still shaking. A doctor hustled Ella, Byron and Maya away from Emily's bed and began checking her. Another doctor came in and looked at Spencer. Ella, Byron and Ashley were standing off to the side staring at their children.

"What happened?" croaked Ella. "Why? Who would do this?"

A knife seemed to slice through Aria's heart. They didn't know. Aria looked at Hanna for help. She knew that perhaps she was asking too much of Hanna, especially when Hanna had just saved her brother's life, but Aria knew she couldn't be the one to tell her parents that their only son had murdered Alison DiLaurentis. She wasn't even sure that the words could form from her lips. Hanna reached down and took Aria's hand.

"It was Mike." Hanna's voice came out much braver than she felt. It was stronger. It didn't waver. She wasn't even sure where it came from. The room seemed much smaller than it had been only moments ago. Ella shook her head fiercely, her eyes set wide like giant marbles.

"No," mumbled Ella. "No, you're wrong."

"It was Mike." repeated Hanna. "He came in here. He told us he killed Ali. He's been the one stalking us and trying to hurt us. He led us to Jason and Ian." she let go of Aria's hand and crouched down to reach under the table. Hanna flashed her phone to everyone. "I pressed record. I don't know if it caught anything that he was saying but if it did there's proof."

"Sta-" Byron wiped his brow. "What do you mean stalking? Aria?"

Soundlessly, Aria shook her head and crumbled to the floor with her head in her hands. Ella was now in pieces, shaking helplessly in her husbands arms as he patted her back and stared off at the wall. Emily's doctors had departed and Maya sped over to her, taking her hand and kissing Emily's forehead lightly. Hanna looked down at her best friend. Spencer, whose doctors had finally left, whispered down to Aria. "What can we do?"

"Ezra." murmured Aria after a minute. Hanna quickly dug through Aria's purse and found his name in her phone. She went as far from the Montgomery's as possible in order to make her call, though Hanna knew they wouldn't be listening anyway, and dialed Ezra's number. He picked up after only three rings.

"Ezra?" Hanna said. "It's Hanna. You need to come to the hospital."

* * *

><p>Ella had been taken to a private room with a bed so she could calm down. She had become so hysterical that doctors suggested she be sedated for her safety and Byron, still too shook up to really understand what anyone was saying to him, calmly agreed and followed the doctors. Hanna rested with her head on her mom's shoulder. The two had barely spoken, but Ashley wouldn't leave Hanna and Hanna wouldn't leave the rest of the girls. Aria was still crumbled on the floor with her head in her knees though her tears had finally subsided. Police had taken Hanna's phone in order to see if the recording was on it and Hanna gave them the camera, too. Now they were left alone.<p>

"Please," Hanna heard a voice plead outside the hospital room door. "I need to get in there. My girlfriend-" she recognized the voice at once and ran to the door. Ezra was fighting with several officers that were stationed outside the room. For the first time Hanna saw the true aftermath of Mike's rampage. Nurses were still shakily collecting themselves behind their desks, reorganizing the papers that Mike had whooshed around the room. Officers were snapping photographs down the hall. Hanna couldn't see what was happening, but she caught the tiniest glimpse of what looked like blood on the floor. "Hanna!"

"He can come in," she told the guards.

Ezra slipped by and was through the door before Hanna had even turned around. Ashley looked up from her seat across the room. "Mr. Fitz?" Aria's head shot up now as well. She climbed up off the floor and slowly walked to Ezra's, her tiny body filling his arms. As he held her he guided her to one of the open chairs, letting himself fall back into it and her to sit lazily in his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs hanging over the side of the chair. With her face buried in his shoulder, she let out one more great sob. "Mr. Fitz," said Ashley a little more harshly. "I don't think-"

"Mom." warned Hanna. "Let them." She went to Spencer's bed and climbed onto it, careful not to push or move Spencer too roughly.

Another dispute outside the door erupted startling everyone out of their worlds. Ashley saw Pam Fields standing with a guard digging with her purse to find her drivers license. She rushed out and vouched for her. Emily nearly leapt from the bed into her moms arms but Maya held her down, afraid that she would hurt herself. "Emi," cried Pam, enveloping her daughter in a large hug. "My baby."

"I'm okay,"

"What happened?" she pulled away from Emily and looked at Ashley. "What's wrong with my daughter? And Spencer-" Pam looked at Spencer and then her eyes settled on Aria and Mr. Fitz. "What is going on?" she asked to everyone in the room.

"Mrs. Fields." A tall, gangly doctor that Emily recognized from earlier stepped in the room and thrust his hand out towards her mother. She shook it nervously. "I'm your daughter's doctor."

"Good." she snapped. "Maybe then you can tell me what's wrong with my daughter and why she and her friend are both lying in hospital beds. Where is Ella and Byron? They were supposed to be watching my daughter."

"It's not their fault!" yelled Emily. "This wasn't their fault."

"As you know from when we spoke on the phone, Emily received a traumatic blow to the head caused by being pushed down a flight of stairs. The trauma to her brain was only increased by the stress she was feeling when the accident occurred and more than likely from before that as well. Emily's brain swelled and began shutting down in order to protect against the loss of too many more brain cells. She essentially placed herself in a coma as an act of protection both to emotional harm and physical harm. The fact that she has woken up today is remarkable, indeed. She needs to stay as stress free as possible for the next few weeks. Tonight's events obviously didn't help that-"

"-what happened tonight?"

"Mom, we can talk about it in a minute."

"No we will talk about it right now."

"Your daughter is going to be fine, Mrs. Fields." The doctor interrupted hastily. "I'd like to keep her under observation for another few days just to make certain that everything is how it should be." The doctor turned to Emily and smiled politely. "I have to say. You are a very unlucky lucky girl."

Emily couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, seems we all are."

The doctor nodded and set the clipboard back at the foot of Emily's bed where it attached. He smiled at Pam and then left. Pam turned to her daughter. "What is going on?"

"Mom," sighed Emily.

"Emily, I need to know what's happened."

"Mrs. Fields?" Pam looked at Maya. Even Emily looked up at her girlfriend. Squeezing Emily's hand just slightly, Maya looked Pam directly in the eye. "Emily is really tired. Maybe you and I can go somewhere and I can fill you in." Looking both shocked and bewildered, Pam nodded and bent down to give Emily a kiss on the forehead. Maya led the way out and Hanna watched as she crossed over to a waiting area and sat down in a seat. Though she couldn't hear her, Hanna saw the contorted looks of pain and horror as Maya recounted the tale. She finally tore her eyes away and looked at Emily. Emily's eyes were squeezed shut.

Hanna got up and walked over to her. "You okay, Em?"

"Mmm," she murmured. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

"About everything." she opened her eyes and looked at Aria who was still laying relatively motionless in Ezra's arms. "Do you think she'll be okay?" Emily whispered.

Hanna frowned and sank into the chair that Maya had mostly taken over. "I don't know if any of us are going to be okay ever again."

"I can't believe Maya and my mom are talking right now. Can you see? Is it going okay? Is Maya still alive?"

"Relax, Em." chuckled Hanna. "You've got yourself a good girl there."

"I'm only worried for her safety," she joked lightly.

"I promise if I see your mom brandish a sword or something I'll go protect your girlfriend."

Emily looked at her hands. "That was really brave, you know. What you did." Hanna turned away from her best friend and stared out the window. Emily bit her lip and let courage swell inside of her. "Han? Are you okay? No one has asked you." Hanna didn't answer at first. She shifted her leg from underneath her and then changed positions again, this time crossing her legs. Finally realizing she wasn't going to be comfortable sitting, Hanna stood up and smiled weakly at the darker haired girl.

"I need coffee. Do you want something while I'm out?"

"Hanna-"

"You know what, I know your usual."

"We should talk about this." Emily yelled out as Hanna left the room. Aria looked up from Ezra's chest only for a moment, her eyes swollen and red. Spencer rolled over and snuggled beneath her covers. Realizing no one was in the mood to talk, Emily rolled over as well, her eyes staring mournfully out the window. She wanted nothing more than to be laying out on the lawn beneath the warm sun without a care in the world.

* * *

><p>Hanna pushed past officers, hospital personnel and visitors to reach outside. The breeze smacked her right across the face. It was cold out, but not the kind of cold that you need a jacket for. The weather reminded Hanna of spring days when she was younger. Her mother would yell and yell for her to wear a jacket but no matter how many times Ashley would toss the jacket at her daughter, Hanna never put it on.<p>

It was too bulky.

It weighed her down too much.

Honestly, Hanna just didn't want to wear anything that made her look bigger than she really was. Shivering slightly, Hanna darted across the street and down the road to the bake shop that she and the girls frequented more times in their youth than Hanna could count. They hadn't been there in years. It was one of the many places they stopped going after Alison disappeared. At first, Hanna wanted to go every place that she could think Alison would be at. But after discovering more than once that Alison wasn't at the place Hanna though she would be, the disappointment became too much. There was a little flip in her stomach as she pushed open the shop door and the bell above ringed out. An older woman with grey streaked blonde hair was standing behind the counter wiping her flour covered hands on the apron tied around her waist. She smiled at Hanna and held up a waiting finger. Hanna took the time to look around the shop. It was exactly the way she remembered it.

There were only four circular tables in the entire building to sit at. They were made of hard wood and the chairs were so old and rickety that they wobbled, but not so much that it made someone feel unsafe. A few booths sat raised up against the walls. Each one had a small paper menu listing the few items the shop actually sold. It was mostly donuts, cupcakes and small cakes but at the very end sat an old freezer with old flavor ice creams to choose from. Beautifully stitched hand made curtains hung from the windows.

"What can I get for you, dear?"

Hanna whipped around and stared at the clerk. She remembered her. Alison and Hanna would sometimes come in after school and get ice cream, especially when they'd had particularly bad test days.

_Alison and Hanna pushed the shop door open and took seats at a high booth. Gazing at the menu for only a few seconds, they each left their bags and ordered their desserts. Back at the table, Alison poked around at her ice cream with a spoon while Hanna enjoyed her chocolate cupcake._

"_I can't believe I failed that test." Hanna said miserably, scooping a bit of frosting up with her finger. She licked it off and frowned. "My mom is going to kill me." _

_Alison laughed and took a bite of ice cream. "Really, Hanna. You act like it's the end of the world." _

"_School is important to me." _

"_If you cared half as much about how you look as you did about school, maybe you wouldn't be the laughing stock of our friends."_

_Hanna looked up. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

"_Oh please." Alison laughed. "You're joking." _

"_No." _

"_Sweetie, you're overweight. That's why I don't let you borrow my clothes anymore. I can't have you stretching them out," _

_Blushing slightly, Hanna wiped her hands on a napkin. "I eat when I'm stressed." _

"_Well be careful Hanna," Alison muttered. "One more bite and you'll be wearing hefty trash bags to school because nothing else will fit you." she began laughing to herself. "Hefty Hanna. I like that." _

"_That's mean." _

"_Stop," she snapped. "I'm being a friend. I'd want someone telling me if I was morbidly obese. Honestly, you need to do something about this before it gets too far." _

"Dear? Can I help you?" Shaking out of her trance and blushing slightly, Hanna forced a smile.

"Um, yeah." she looked down at the display and swallowed hard. "Could I get a dozen donuts to go, please? An assortment is fine."

She exchanged money with the clerk, said her goodbye's, and headed out the door with the box. It wasn't a far trip from the shop to her house. With a quick flip through her keys and a twist of the knob, Hanna walked in to her empty house. She took a moment to bathe in the silence and then walked straight up the stairs to her room. It seemed like so long ago that she was even inside of it. For whatever reason, it felt like someone else's room entirely. It didn't seem like hers. Nothing seemed like Hanna anymore. She flipped open the lid of the donuts and bit into the first one. It was covered in a thick fudge chocolate and rainbow sprinkles. After that one, she took a bite of a lemon filled donut that oozed out globs of jelly. Every bite she took another tear fell from her eyes. Hanna continued until she reached her sixth donut, a blueberry one, when she finally closed the box and pushed it away from her. It tumbled off the bed and the remaining donuts crushed against her floor. She tore herself off her bed and launched into her bathroom, her knees buckling beneath her and causing her to collapse down onto the cool tile.

Hanna lurched her donut purge into the toilet. Every great heave mixed with salty, desperate tears launched a small flashback of Mike wielding the gun in front of her eyes. An insatiable urge to throw up everything from the past few years came over her. She wanted it all to be done and over with. Hanna didn't want any of it in her memory. She wanted to be cured.

Somewhere, deeply buried inside of her, Hanna wished Alison had never existed.

She wiped her mouth with a towel and scooted herself against her bathtub, letting her head fall between her knees. Hanna drew in long, slow breaths. When she had finally calmed down enough to stand, Hanna went into her room and dumped the donuts into her trash can. Out of the corner of her eye, Hanna saw a picture sitting on her shelf of her and Alison. She picked it up and stared at it, letting her finger trace the outline of Alison's face.

"I hate you." Hanna whispered. With all the energy she could muster up, Hanna threw the picture frame at her wall and watched the glass shatter into tiny flakes. Not bothering to clean up the mess, Hanna turned back around, grabbed her bag, and headed back to the hospital not even caring that she never got her or Emily coffee's.

**I really felt like Hanna deserved a big scene. She's probably my favorite character next to Emily and I feel like I haven't put enough of her in this story. She needed this. **

**So next chapter will be the final chapter. It will sum up Aria's family and then there will be a Maya/Emily scene. I think you'll all be happy with it. :) Love your reviews! Thanks guys!**


	19. Home Again

Aria flicked on her light. Behind her, Ezra guided her arm to her bed. Ella and Byron were still at the hospital where doctors had committed Mike to a psychiatric unit in order to be observed over night. They didn't object when Ezra asked them if he could drive Aria home, nor did they find much suspicion in the fact that Aria's former English teacher had come to comfort her. Aria wasn't even sure if they had seen who was speaking to them. They each gave her a hug and sank back into the chairs outside Mike's room. Officers weren't allowing any visitors inside.

"Here, lay down." Ezra muttered, his arm steadying his unsteady girlfriend. Aria let herself be guided down and tucked into bed. He pulled the covers over Aria and rearranged the pillows. As he pulled away, Aria grabbed his arm and tugged hard. For the first time that evening, Ezra heard her speak.

"No, please. Stay."

"I'm just going to get you some water."

"Then I'll come," she insisted, throwing herself up off the bed and trying to untangle her feet from the bed.

Ezra pushed her back down and shook his head. "You've had a really, _really_stressful day. Please," he pleaded. "Lay down. Let me get you something to drink. I promise I'll be right back." Her head dropped and Ezra waited for an answer. When she finally looked up, her eyes were wide and were glistening with a fresh shield of tears.

"I can't be alone." she whispered. "Please stay." Ezra had never seen Aria so vulnerable. He obliged and moved her covers back so he could slip underneath. She pushed up against his body and Ezra wrapped a secure arm around her. Once the two had settled into a comfortable position, Ezra felt his shirt weighing down with wet tears. He squeezed Aria closer to him and let her cry. "What's going to happen to him?"

"I wish I could tell you." he said honestly, his voice trapping itself in her hair. "Did he say...why?"

Aria pulled her head away from him and swiped her tear drenched hair back behind her ears. "He loved her," she said miserably. "He loved her and she played him like the cold hearted bitch that she was and he snapped. This is my fault."

"Aria, no."

"It is. She was my friend. I brought her around Mike. I _knew_she was mean. And maybe..." she turned away from him. "Maybe Mike is right. Maybe the attention really has been on me all these years. I didn't do enough for him."

"You can't blame yourself for this, Aria. Mike... he's sick. He needs help. He toyed you and your friends for months with those text messages. Your lives were turned upside down. He murdered a girl and you were the ones to suffer for it. Hell, you were suspects in her murder. I'm not saying he deserves any of what is about to happen to him," Ezra hooked a finger under her chin and made her look back at him. "But he committed a crime. That's not your fault or your parents fault. But Mike has broken a lot of rules in the past few years. He isn't just going to walk away from this."

"I know what he did." Aria said firmly. "So why do I want so badly to go and give him a hug?"

Ezra pulled Aria to him again and sighed. "Because he's your brother, and sometimes love trumps over everything else."

"Hanna saved him."

"What do you mean?"

Aria began shaking. "He held it up to his head," she brought up her hand and pointed her fingers like a gun, pointing it at her own head. "Like this. He held the gun like this, and he was going to do it. He was in so much pain. I don't even remember what happened. It happened so quick. The next thing I knew, Hanna had Mike pinned to the ground and the gun wasn't in his hand anymore." she pulled away from Ezra and scooted to the wall, folding her knees up against her chest and hugging them. "She could have gotten hurt. He could have hurt her...the gun..."

"Stop thinking like that. Everyone is okay. Emily woke up, right? And Spencer is healing. All of you are healing, really. This whole A thing is over with." Aria just nodded. She couldn't find her voice again. Ezra took her hand in his and frowned. "Aria, I think there are two ways to lose a child. The DiLaurentis' lost Alison by her death. But I think when Mike killed Alison, he went with her. Your parents lost a child too that night. I don't think Mike has ever been the same. And honestly," he took a deep breath. "I don't know who is worse off."

"He knew about us," Aria whispered. "I mean, I knew A knew. But I always wondered why we were never outed. A never went after me. A few times, maybe. But it never worked. A never tried taking me down. In the hospital room, Mike said something about you. I don't remember what it was, but... he knew, Ezra. He could have told anyone at anytime but he didn't."

"You were still his sister. I think Mike is a really confused kid,"

"Will you stay with me tonight?"

Ezra hesitated. "I don't think the best way to tell your parents we're together is them finding us sleeping in the same bed."

"I don't want to sleep." admitted Aria. "I don't want to close my eyes. Just hold me."

"That I can do," he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

* * *

><p>"Aria, we're home." Their voices traveled up the stairs towards Ezra and Aria. They were snuggled underneath Aria's warm comforter. Ezra nearly leapt up at the sound of Byron's voice. Knowing that their time was up, Aria allowed him to move from her bed and across the hall to the bathroom. She fixed her hair in the mirror and took a tissue to wipe away the running mascara. She hadn't looked in the mirror since before they left for Ian's. She was startled by what she saw. In the mirror wasn't the confident, pretty Aria she was used to seeing. In her place was a hallow looking girl, her makeup washed away by too many tears and a long cut came down her face that began at her ear and ran down to her chin. There was still dirt patches stuck to her skin and her eyes seemed void of anything other than depression. It startled Aria to see herself like this.<p>

Ella's voice floated up the stairs. "Aria?" She sounded almost panicked. Aria heard Ezra flush the toilet in the bathroom and she exited her room to find her mother already half way up the stairs. "Oh – good, good you're home." Her shaky arms wrapped her daughter in a hug. Behind them, the door opened and Ezra walked out. When Aria looked at him, she saw how nervous he looked. Ella raised an eyebrow and something flipped in Aria's stomach, but when instead of questioning Ezra she reached out and gave him a hug, Aria stepped back. "Thank you for bringing her home and staying with her,"

"I," he stumbled over his words. "Yeah, of course. Actually-"

"Actually, Ezra and I were just about to go grab something to eat." Aria interrupted. "Do you want us to bring you something back? You have to be hungry."

"I'm not."

"Mom-"

"I'm not hungry."

"You have to eat, I doubt you and da-"

"_Aria,_" snapped Ella. "Go get dinner with Ezra. Just go."

Blinking back tears, Aria scooted backwards into her room and grabbed her wallet off the dresser leaving Ezra behind to stand dumbly in the middle of the hallway. When she returned Aria took Ezra's hand and stared idly at her mother for a moment; the action barely phased Ella. She merely turned around and shuffled herself into the bedroom and closed the door behind her. The pair found Byron downstairs sitting on the couch. A fire had been lit and it crackled and spat. Aria slid down on the couch next to her father and placed a hand on his arm.

Her voice crackling, Aria spoke as loudly as she could muster but it still came out only as a small whisper. "What's going to happen to Mike?" Byron looked up as though her voice was the first thing to alert him of her presence, even though her hand was on his arm. He frowned and looked over to Ezra, who was standing awkwardly on the bottom step.

"I don't know, Aria."

"Well did the police-" Aria stopped when her father looked up from his lap. It looked like his cheeks had been stained with tears that only just had been wiped away. She knelt down in front of him and wrapped her arms around her father. He reciprocated but pulled away after only a few seconds. He cleared his throat and looked at Ezra.

"Ezra," he nodded.

"Byron." Ezra said awkwardly.

"Thank you for bringing Aria home. I really appreciate it." He stood and walked to the table where his wallet sat. "Here, let me give you gas money."

Ezra chanced a look at Aria but looked directly back at Byron. "No, really. It's fine. My pleasure," A slight grin flickered on Aria's face when Ezra looked at her. "We were actually going to go grab some dinner. Would you like to join us?"

For a moment, they both thought that Byron would said yes. His face flickered between yes and no, but he finally shook his head and frowned. "I think I should be here with Ella. At least let me give you money for dinner."

"My treat." Ezra held his hand up. "Besides, this is what you do for friends." He looked over at Aria and back to Byron. "We're friends."

It didn't seem odd at all to Byron that Ezra said he and his daughter, who was formerly her teacher, were friends. In fact, it went smoother than either Aria or Ezra could ever have imagined. Part of Aria knew that it wouldn't be the right time to tell her father of her relationship with her ex-teacher, but another part of her wanted to scream it out. She was also quite aware that had her father not been throughly distracted by the events of the evening, he would have been more disturbed with the idea than he was then. She squashed the screams and headed out the front door with Ezra, her mind clouded with too many thoughts.

* * *

><p><strong>Three weeks later<strong>

"So he's just...in jail?" Hanna asked Aria, taking a sip of her soda. "And that's it?"

Aria shook her head and pushed the plate of fries away from her. "There will be a trial." she paused and looked down. "For Ali's murder," Again, she paused. "For what he did to us," She finally looked up at the girls. "The hospital." Everyone was silent. "They put up a bail but we can't pay it. Even if we could," she trailed off. "I don't know if we would."

"How are your parents?" asked Emily.

This made Aria chuckle a little. "My parents," she muttered. "-they're coping. They're dealing, I guess. My mom doesn't come out of her room a lot. She's taken a leave of absence. My dad is at Hollis most of the day and when he comes home he goes outside and does yard work. No one goes anywhere near Mike's room," she fumbled over her words. "Mom was doing laundry and Mike's shirt was mixed in with hers. She was crying for an hour,"

"You can always stay with one of us." Spencer said.

"Anytime," agreed Hanna. "One big party at the Marin's. Everyone can come live with me."

"No," Aria smiled. "But thank you. It's just..."

"What?"

"I could have stopped all of this." Spencer went to protest but Aria stopped her. "No, really. I mean, all this A stuff. I could have stopped it. If we would have just said something or gotten brave and told A off, maybe things would have ended different. Maybe Mike wouldn't have..." she stopped and wiped a tear away from her eye. "I had to tell them everything. I'm going to have to tell it in court. You guys are going to have to testify. Me and my friends are going to have to crucify my little brother on the stand. If you could have seen the look on my parents face as I was telling the cops about A..."

Hanna slid her hand across the table and looped her fingers through Aria's. "You can't think like this, Aria. It's not your fault. Your parents know that. We all know that. Mike was going to do what he was going to do. You saw how he was in the hospital. Mike lost it."

"I just wish he would have talked to me."

A heavy silence fell on the girls. They were each lost in their thoughts. Finally Spencer dropped a few dollars on the table for a tip and nodded for them all to head out the door. It was raining but none of them seemed to care. They all pulled their hoods above their head and walked with their arms linked, just the three of them, each thinking about the past few months. Though the streets were scarce that day due to the rain, it didn't take much for Hanna, Spencer and Aria to be noticed. Those who were hurrying to their cars against the rain stopped for a few seconds to stare at the infamous girls. Even through the heavy wind, they could hear the whispers. They could feel the stares. The story was all around town now. Going to school was out of the question for any of them. There were the people who wanted to hear everything first hand from the girls, and the people who wanted to try and find holes in their story to persecute them, and the people who were scared of them and the people who didn't believe them. It was a zoo. It was a madhouse.

For some reason, Hanna, Aria and Spencer suddenly found themselves wishing they could instead be under the watch eye of A again. At least then it was one person. Now, it was the whole world.

"Has anyone heard from Em?" Hanna broke the silence.

"Her mom has her on lockdown," muttered Aria. "I'm definitely not allowed there."

"What?" asked Spencer. "What do you mean?"

"I don't think Mrs. Fields really wants to see me or anyone in my family anytime soon," she muttered, looking into the distance. Two guys from Rosewood High were pointing at them. Aria tugged her friends arms and walked faster. "Considering everything Mike did."

"Mike did that stuff, not you." insisted Hanna. "Don't let Pam get to you."

"I just think it's better if I stay away."

"I talked to Emily last night." said Spencer. "She's worried that she hasn't talked to you since everything, Aria. You should call her. Her mom doesn't want a lot of visitors, but she isn't regulating the phone as much anymore. She's actually been allowing Maya to stay over there as long as, and I quote, _she __stays __downstairs __on__ the __couch__ at __all__ times__ and __all __doors __stay__ open __and__ as__ long __as __Pam __is __at __home __and __in __the __same __room. _Something like that, at least." she chuckled a little but then frowned again. "You really should call her." They rounded the corner towards Spencer's house and stopped in their tracks. News vans were lining the street. Reporters were hanging around the gate to Spencer's drive and looking as though they were waiting for someone – anyone – to come home and let them in. None of the girls turned around in time and a single reporter recognized them, alerting everyone else to their presence.

"Oh, fuc-" Hanna began backing away with the other girls. The reporters got to them too quickly though. Spencer had a microphone thrust in her face.

"Spencer Hastings, right?" The blonde didn't give Spencer any time to answer. "Is it true that your ex-brother in law tried to rape you in the old DiLaurentis house? Any word on if they've caught up with Jason DiLaurentis?"

"Get away, you vultures!" Spencer spat, grabbing her friends wrists and trying to push through the crowd. Another reporter, this time a male, shouted questions in her ear.

"Michael Montgomery is your brother, right?" he shouted at Aria. "How do you feel, knowing you'll have to testify against him in court? There will be a trial, correct? Is it true that he admitted to killing your best friend Alison DiLaurentis?"

"Back off!" screamed Spencer.

"Is it true that Jason DiLaurentis sexually abused his younger sister?"

"What is this we heard about a stalker?"

Hanna had enough. She pushed as hard as she possibly could and broke through the crowd. As soon as they were no longer surrounded, Hanna turned and faced the reporters. Their microphones were jutted out towards her. "You want someone to talk to you?" she yelled. "You want a _story?__" _she screeched. Behind her, Spencer whispered into her ear telling her to stop, but Hanna ignored her. "We're all hurting. We've all been hurt. All you media people aren't fucking helping," her hands were clenched in fists. "We're trying to move on the best we can. If you want to know what happened, you'll find out soon enough. Just leave us alone," Hanna flipped off the cameras, turned around, and began walking up Spencer's drive. Aria followed her, but Spencer lingered there for a moment.

"Air that, and my parents will sue every single one of you."

"We're not scared of your lawyer parents," one of the journalists laughed.

"A little advice? Go home and google Hastings, but not before putting on a diaper. You'll shit your pants you'll be so scared." Spencer turned and left them all standing their, a little speechless and a little more confused than they had been when they arrived.

* * *

><p>Emily's room was bathed in warm sunlight. It was the first day that it wasn't raining in Rosewood. She had been home from the hospital for nearly two weeks now, and not once had her mother let her leave the house. Maya came and visited as often as she could. Even Emily had to admit that, although her mom was being far more over protective than Emily wanted her to be, she was being nice to Maya. Maya was allowed to come over at anytime that she wanted so long as she and Emily stay downstairs. On days that Mrs. Fields didn't want Emily to leave her bed, Maya was allowed to be in Emily's room as long as it was in the arm chair next to Emily's bed and not on the bed with her.<p>

Pam decided the very next day after Mike's breakdown that she was staying in Rosewood. She reopened their house and, whenever she wasn't at the hospital with Emily, she was moving Emily's things back from the Marin's and into her old bedroom, much to Emily's displeasure. It was a small battle between the two Field women, one which Emily eventually lost. Emily wanted nothing more than to go back to Hanna's house, but one look at her mother's face told Emily she shouldn't challenge her. Once at home, Emily was given strict instructions not to talk to any of her friends. "It's not that I don't want you to talk to them anymore," Pam had said. "It's that you need a break away from them." And Emily, too tired to argue, simply laid in her bed and agreed.

Now that so much time had passed, though, Emily was getting restless. The sun was begging her to come outside and play. She wanted nothing more than to sit at the park with her friends or Maya. She hadn't had any alone time with any of her friends in two weeks. Any time spent with Maya was also spent with her mother hovering closely behind them. It was aggravating, to say the least.

"Emmy," Emily's door swung open and Pam stood in the doorway. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Just fine? Does it hurt anywhere?"

"It hasn't hurt anywhere for days."

"What about your headache?"

"It's fine."

"And your ankle? Is it still swollen?"

"No." There was a small silence. Pam opened her mouth to say something and then stopped. "I talked to dad," Emily said. It was a lie, but she needed something to soothe the silence. "He said to tell you he loves you." Pam just nodded. "Can Maya come over for dinner?" Another nod.

"You are sure you're feeling alright?"

"Positive."

"I need to go to the store." Emily's heart raced. Was she actually going to have some peace and quiet? Was her mother actually going to leave her alone? Or maybe she was planning on bringing Emily with her. Either way, Emily felt a surge of happiness. Being alone would be wonderful, but seeing the outside world would be just as thrilling. "Actually I have a couple places to go." she paused. "Will you be alright here alone?"

"Of course," Emily answered a bit too eagerly. "I'm fine. _Really._"

"No friends over."

"I know." she had to suppress the grin. "How long will you be gone?"

"A couple hours," she wavered. "Three or four, maybe."

"I'll be fine." insisted Emily. "I could use some quiet time."

"If you need anything I'll have my phone."

Emily waited for the footsteps to fade out. She hoisted herself up off her bed, albeit slower than she normally would, and glided over to the window seat. She watched as her mother walked down the driveway and climbed into her tiny car and then pulled away. As the car got smaller and smaller in the distance, Emily's heart beat faster. When she could no longer see her mother's car, she stood from the window seat, snatched her cell phone from her bed, and texted Maya.

_Come over. Now. _

* * *

><p>"Pizza for dinner?" Ashley Marin held out a coupon to Hanna. Hanna just nodded, her eyes pointed down towards her homework, though her head was somewhere else. She doodled absentmindedly in the margins. It had been several days since she spoke to Emily, and even longer since she spoke to Caleb. Aria and Spencer were the only two contacts in her text inbox anymore. Most of Aria's were one worded answers, replying to Hanna's worried <em>are<em>_you__okay_texts. Spencer was one of those people who, when they text, they _text._No words were shortened or abbreviated. Anything Hanna said to Spencer, Spencer would reply with at least three pages. "Han, are you alright?"

"Mhm," muttered Hanna, pretending to write down the answer to her math problem. She hadn't been to school in days, but Mona brought her work over. Hanna knew it was more because Mona wanted to be able to tell everyone she saw Hanna than she was concerned Hanna would fall behind in class, but she didn't care. She let Mona in, chatted for a couple minutes, and then when Mona finally realized she wasn't getting anything out of her, she left.

"Have you heard from Emily?"

Hanna shook her head. "Not really," she flipped a page in her notebook. "Her mom wants her to rest."

"So she's home from the hospital."

"Yeah."

"Good, good." Ashley poured both her and her daughter a glass of lemonade and slid Hanna's across the counter towards her. "You know, I've been thinking. You've missed a lot of school. That homework is probably confusing,"

"Spencer has been helping me." said Hanna dryly.

"Well if you wanted me to get a tutor," offered Ashley. "I could. You know, just until you go back to school. You've been out for two weeks."

Hanna let her pencil drop. "Yeah, I have. And I've been turning in all the work and taking all the tests I've missed." she snapped.

"I know, Hanna." Ashley said softly. "I know. I don't expect you to just jump back into your old life again. I know this is hard for you...everything that's happened. It's a lot." Hanna was silent. "Have you talked to your dad?"

"No."

"He called last night. He wants to talk to you."

"I'm not interested." Hanna looked at her untouched glass of lemonade, pushed the stool back from the counter, and gathered up her books. "I'm going to go upstairs and study."

"Can't we just talk?"

"About what?"

"About everything. This whole A thing. We haven't talked, Hanna." Ashley reached out for her daughter. "I thought we had a good relationship. I just want you to be able to talk to me." Hanna pulled away. "Maybe you're not ready to talk about A, but I need to know, Hanna. Why didn't you just come to one of us and tell us? If not me, your dad? Why did you girls keep this from everyone? You knew the police would have helped-"

"-no. No, we didn't know the police would have helped. We've been suspects and victims and under this constant spotlight for years now. Jason had someone on the force to help him out. You can't-" she swallowed hard. "You can't tell me you don't understand why we kept this from you. We were trying to protect you. Protect ourselves! People were getting hurt. I," her voice quieted. "I know I can talk to you, mom. But I've been protecting you for so long, and I've been keeping secrets for so long... I don't know how to talk to anyone, anymore." She started backing up out of the room. "I don't know how to be normal." The doorbell rang and Hanna let out a breath of relief. She turned and hurried to the door, not bothering to look through the peep hole. Her mouth dropped when the door was fully open. "Caleb." she whispered.

* * *

><p>"Morning."<p>

Aria walked into the kitchen to find her mother cooking breakfast. It was surprising to Aria that her mother was out of bed before noon, let alone cooking bacon and eggs. She propped herself up at the counter and watched as her mom stirred a pot of sausage gravy. Aria could smell flaky biscuits toasting in the oven, and her stomach growled. A wave of guilt crashed over her for feeling happy. _I__shouldn't__feel__happy__that__mom__is__cooking__breakfast__when__Mike__is__sitting__in__jail,_she thought to herself. Ella was humming a tune Aria hadn't heard since she was a little girl.

"You seem really good today," commented Aria. Ella looked up and smiled.

"I'm sorry I haven't spent much time with you." she said. "Everything has just been so..."

"Please don't apologize,"

"I need to."

"No." insisted Aria. "You really don't."

"Talked to Mike today." This time, the smile was forced. "He's doing good. They have him on a couple different medications. Depression, bipolar medication. Things like that. He's okay." The bacon sizzled in the frying pan. "We're meeting with the lawyers tomorrow to decide what the best course of action is." Ella put a plate of toast in front of Aria.

"The best course of action?" Aria asked, taking a bite of toast.

"In his defense."

The room was silent as Aria mulled over her thoughts and Ella checked the biscuits. "What defense, mom? Can he really defend himself at this point?" The stove slammed shut again.

"Of course he can," she snapped. "He can."

"He did a lot." Aria muttered quietly. "I don't know if-"

Ella threw down the spatula. It bounced off the counter and onto the floor. "Go to your room. I'll call you when breakfast is ready."

"Mom, I-"

"Go."

* * *

><p>Emily was waiting for Maya upstairs. The stairs were still difficult for Emily to go up and down. It wasn't just the pain of moving, but fear nearly swallowed her whole every time she went near them. She wouldn't ever let her mom know, but the idea of walking up and down stairs by herself terrified her. Emily constantly felt as if she was going to fall. She heard the front door open and shut. Emily was watching from her window when Maya pulled up. She waved happily, and Maya let herself in.<p>

"What's the emergency?" asked Maya. Emily patted the window seat. "Hey, where's your mom?"

"Gone." Emily said ecstatically. "Store. She'll be gone for hours." she intertwined their fingers. "We have the house to ourselves for the first time in weeks."

"You're in a good mood."

"Thanks for noticing," she grinned. Emily pulled Maya down to the seat with her and hugged her tight. She was barely allowed to look at Maya, let alone touch her, for weeks. She nuzzled her nose against Maya's neck. The darker girl smelled like honey. Emily kissed Maya's neck once, then twice, then three times until she finally pulled away and cupped Maya's cheeks. "I have missed you so much."

"I've been here every day."

"No," Emily shook her head and kissed Maya's cheek. "Not like this," she kissed the other one. "Come here." She stood up and tugged Maya towards her bed. Emily only managed to pull her half way there when Maya resisted and pulled back. She pulled Emily into her arms and placed her hands on either side of Emily's waist. "What are you doing?" pouted Emily. "Come with me."

"I shouldn't even be here, Emily. Your mom put down the rules. We should at least try to follow them. We're lucky she even let's me come over." Maya pecked Emily on the lips and then pulled back. "How about I order us a pizza and we watch a movie downstairs?" She saw Emily's frown and she frowned too. "Or I could make us something downstairs. I'm really good at making cereal," she joked. "Or mac and cheese. I think I could handle that." Emily was still frowning. Maya tried again. "I could run to the store and get some chocolate," Maya hooked a finger under Emily's chin and forced Emily to look her in the eyes. "What's wrong?"

"I know I've got bruises," Emily mumbled and looked down at the dark purple and blue bruises that lined her right arm. "And I probably don't look my prettiest because my mom barely let's me out of my bed. But I'm not broken." She looked up at Maya. "I'm not."

"I didn't say-"

"Kiss me." begged Emily. "Please." Maya didn't hesitate. She grabbed Emily's face and let their lips crash together. It felt like their first kiss all over again. Maya poured every bit of love she could into the kiss, hoping that it would take away Emily's worries and pain, and in return Emily poured everything she was feeling into Maya, hoping Maya could understand what she wanted. Emily let her hands fall down to Maya's side and tug the darker girl closer against her body. Her fingers slipped under Maya's shirt and tickled her back. Maya giggled into the kiss, but didn't pull away. She could feel Emily smiling into the kiss. "Thank you." said Emily, as Maya pulled away. She tugged Maya's shirt and pulled her towards the bed again. This time, Maya didn't pull her back, but she did resist. She stood firmly in place and didn't budge. "Maya..."

"I'm going to go make you some lunch." she kissed Emily's cheek and went downstairs, leaving Emily at the edge of her bed.

* * *

><p>"You haven't answered my calls," Caleb seethed. "Or my texts. Nothing. I haven't heard from you in weeks. All I hear is everything else from everyone else. People at school, the news." He pushed past her and stood in the foyer. "You couldn't bother to call me? You couldn't bother to tell me what happened?"<p>

Hanna leaned up against the door and folded her arms. "Come on in," she said sarcastically.

"Hanna this isn't a joke. I had, no, I _have_no idea what happened. Are you even okay?" Hanna still had bruises visible on her body, and though some of the cuts she endured healed, there were some that hadn't closed completely. She could feel his eyes looked her up and down. Ashley came from the kitchen, surprised to see Caleb standing there, and looked to Hanna.

"Caleb," she said, still looking at her daughter. "It's good to see you."

"And you, Ms. Marin." he turned back to Hanna. "Can we talk?"

"You've already decided that. We're talking, aren't we?"

"Hanna."

"I'm going to the store," interrupted Ashley. "Anything you guys want?"

"No." they said simultaneously. "Thank you, though." added Caleb. Ashley just smiled and grabbed her purse and keys from the table near the door. She exited without another word, and Ashley and Caleb were left alone. The house seemed smaller than usual. Caleb was standing with his feet pressed up against the bottom stair. Hanna was fidgeting nervously with a spare thread on her shirt. "Want to sit?" he said, nodding to the couch. Hanna didn't really acknowledge his question, but instead she just took a seat. He followed her and sat in the armchair opposite the couch. "Did I do something?"

"No, of course not." she mumbled.

Caleb sighed. "I thought we were..." he rubbed his hand against his face. "I don't know. I thought we were good, Hanna. Then you just disappear for weeks. I don't hear from you. Suddenly, you're all over the news. Allison's murder, Jason DiLaurentis, something about Ian. What the hell, Hanna? What's going on?"

"I didn't know how to talk to you." she swallowed. "About everything. It's complicated. Everything is so, so complicated." Hanna ran her hand through her hair, pulled her legs on the couch, and hugged them to her chest. "After seeing you that day... I meant to call you that night... everything happened so fast."

"What happened so fast? What happened with Jason and Ian?"

"When Alison was alive, Jason hurt her." Hanna closed her eyes. "Really bad. We found out. We needed proof. We thought Jason killed her because she found the videos he took of _them__" _

"So it's true." he deadpanned. "You went to that house. You went there without telling _anyone!__" _

"Maya knew."

"Maya." he laughed a little. "So Emily can remember to tell her girlfriend that she's going to break into a house and look for evidence against a guy who might have killed his sister, but you-"

"-we never said we were back together. We talked about it."

"So that gives you the right to risk your life and not let me know about it?"

"I didn't realize I was risking my life."

"Really," he cocked his head to the side. "You didn't think that going there wasn't even the little bit dangerous."

"If it makes you feel any better, I took your knife."

"My knife?"

"Yeah it's gone now. I left it at the house, I think. Sorry." She lowered her head. "I am sorry, you know. You're right. I probably should have called." Caleb scoffed. "Okay, I definitely should have called. Caleb, look. I didn't _know_what was going to happen that night. I didn't know what was happening at the hospital. I almost called you," she bit her lip. "But dragging you into all this...you already have so much going on in your life. I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't bring you into my problems that I created."

"I want to be in your life." he insisted. "I want your problems to me my problems."

"Caleb," Hanna shook her head. "There was someone stalking us. Not us, like you and me," she said quickly. "Me and my friends. Spencer, Aria, and Emily. They texted us, telling us to do things. Blackmailed us. A, that's what, um, that's what our stalker was called. A." she paused. "A had a lot of stuff on us. Things that...things that couldn't get out, you know? Things that would destroy all of us. And A knew everything."

"Why not just tell someone?"

"When we'd even get close to knowing who A was, something would happen. Someone would get hurt. It wasn't always us. Before I knew you, um," she cleared her throat. "I was hit by a car. It was A. I wasn't seriously hurt," she mumbled. "It hurt, but, you know. We couldn't tell anyone, Caleb. Not without someone getting hurt."

"So Ian and Jason? They were A?"

"No. No, A was Aria's brother."

Caleb's mouth dropped open. "Her little brother."

"Yup."

"But why?"

"He was in love with Ali. She tortured him." Hanna frowned. "Everyone likes to believe Alison was this wonderful person, but in reality... she really wasn't. Sometimes even I forget that. Alison could be great, yeah. And maybe a lot of it had to do with what Jason put her through. But Ali was mean. She was vindictive." She shrugged. "Alison was a bitch." Hanna leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes. She thought of Allison; there were times that Hanna wanted nothing more than to punch Allison straight in the face. It was something Hanna never would have found the courage to do, but oh boy – she wanted to. She wanted to more than anything. But there were also the times that Alison was sweet and charming. "She was my best worst friend." Hanna muttered. "All of ours."

"Is it over now?"

Hanna sucked in a deep breath and opened her eyes. "I guess. I mean, Mike is in jail. Or, juvie. Whatever. I don't know what it's called. He's going to be tried for Alison's murder I think. Stalking, all that. The hospital incident."

"So all that is true?"

"All of it's true."

"And Jason and Ian?"

"They're running."

Caleb stood up and knelt in front of Hanna. He took one hand in his and squeezed it. "You could have told me all of this," he whispered. "At any point, but I understand why you didn't." He squeezed her hand again. "Are you okay?"

"Emily is a lot more banged up then me," laughed Hanna.

"No," Caleb shook his head. "I mean are you _okay?_" The way he took her by the shoulders and forced her to look at him unlocked something inside of Hanna. She cocked her head to the side, almost as if she was studying him, trying to figure out what he was asking, even though she knew inside what he wanted her to say. It came almost quickly; almost too quickly. The dam inside Hanna broke, and like she was exploding with it, Hanna pushed Caleb back from her and stood up. Every inch of her was shaking. It was almost as if something was pressed against her chest making it hard to breathe; Hanna gasped for air, coughing and angrily brushing the tears away. Caleb was still on the floor looking up at Hanna, unsure of what more he could do than let her fight it out. She finally accepted defeat and let her tears fall freely without any barriers. She didn't try and brush them away. Her breathing evened, her shoulders slowly stopped shaking. Hanna held herself. She looked down at Caleb.

"No." she cried. "I'm not."

* * *

><p>"This isn't right!" The front door downstairs slammed shut. Aria heard something shatter and footsteps beating against the hard wood floor. She carefully shut her school book and tip toed to her bedroom door. It wasn't as though she needed to be quiet; any noise Aria was making was no doubt muffled by the angry sounds coming from down stairs, most likely made by her mother. She opened her bedroom door with instant regret. It was a wonder Aria hadn't gone crazy already with how many times she had to look at Mike's shut bedroom door every day. It would have suited her more to stay in her room and listen to her mother from inside those confines, but she pushed forward and sat on the very top step of the stairs like she had so often when she was younger.<p>

Though she couldn't see her, Aria knew her parents were in the living room. Their voices traveled up the steps easily to her. She visualized her father sitting with his head in his hands, waiting for Ella to calm down enough for him to speak. Ella was probably pacing back and forth, her arms flailing, and her face contorted in anger. They had left hours ago for their meeting with Mike's lawyers. Aria knew it would take a while, but the longer they were gone the more nervous she became.

"Ella, we have to take what we can get."

"There won't even be a trial!" she shrieked. "Our child. Our _child_is going to _jail,_Byron."

"There will be a trial, Ella." Byron sounded tired and weak. "But Mike will be pleading guilty. You heard what Mike's lawyers said. They have a confession. They have a taped, real confession from Mike himself. The proof against Mike is too strong. On top of the girls testimony... this is for the best. This is the best for everyone."

"The best for everyone." Ella said quietly. "Really? Because I don't see Mike having a real good time with this one."

"It's not jail, Ella. It's a mental facility. He needs help." Aria heard her father put something down on the table. It made a heavy clunking sound. "This is what needs to happen. Do you really want to put Aria through that trial? Is that really what you want? If Mike goes to trial for Allison's murder, yeah, maybe he'll get off. Maybe they won't have the physical evidence. But the case against his own sister? What happened at the hospital? He will be _buried,_Ella. Don't you get that? Taking a plea deal is the only way to save him. It's the only way to save all of us."

"This isn't about us or Aria."

"Yes it is!" Something clattered against the wall. It made Aria jump. "It _is_about us. It _is_about Aria. It's especially about Aria! She is our _daughter._Have you even talked to her the past few days? Really talked to her? Have you? Since she told us everything that happened the past two years? God, our daughter was being tortured and by our own son. Everything that she's been through-" he trailed off. "And I didn't help it. I was a part of it. I cheated on you, and I regret it every day of my life. I knew it affected our kids but I had _no__idea..._" Everything in the house was silent. Aria was sure that if she even breathed her parents would know that she was home, that she was listening... "Mike is beyond our help, Ella. You need to see that. I'm not giving up on our son, but we both need to start helping our daughter."

"Aria's fine."

"Is she?" asked Byron. "Because I'm not even sure we know who our daughter is anymore." Aria scooted backwards and pushed herself up from off the ground. It took only seven steps to reach her room, and another ten to get to her bed. Aria fell face down and let a cool stream of tears soak her sheets.

* * *

><p>"Here we are," Maya walked back into Emily's room with a tray of food balanced perfectly on one hand. In the other she carried two individual bottles of orange juice. She kicked the door open a little more so she could walk in without spilling, and then placed the tray next to Emily on the bed. "We have toast, we have cereal. We have mac and cheese. We have strawberries and blueberries. There is a grilled cheese and, of course, m&amp;m's." She smiled. "Basically this is all I can cook, so deal with it." Emily chuckled and smiled.<p>

"I hope you're planning on eating some of this with me,"

"Duh." She popped an m&m into her mouth and smiled. Emily just laughed and picked up one of the two forks sticking out of the mac and cheese bowl. She stirred it around for a minute before placing the fork back down. "What? Is it not cheesy enough?"

"No, it's fine." Emily frowned.

"Em," sighed Maya. "What's wrong?"

"Can you do me a favor? Put this tray on the floor. Right, just there." Emily pointed. Maya nodded awkwardly and pick up the tray she had only just sat down. "Okay, now can you please sit here." Emily pointed next to her on the bed. Maya bit her lip and looked over her shoulder. "I promise my mother isn't home and she won't shoot you if you're sitting on my bed." With one last feeble look, Maya sat perched at the very edge of Emily's bed. She smiled at Emily, albeit weakly, and ran their hands together. "You can move closer." whispered Emily.

"Emily," Maya shook her head. "Your mom made the rules very clear." With a defiant sigh, Emily lunged for Maya. She didn't get Maya a chance to pull away or get off the bed. Emily had the shorter girl pinned beneath her. Her bruised side, which had only just begun to heal, stung, but Emily ignored it and only kissed Maya quicker. Maya wasn't protesting; if anything, Maya was only egging it on by slipping one hand under Emily's shirt and running it tantalizingly up and down. Emily pulled away from Maya's lips and kissed down her neck and onto her collarbone. "Emily," muttered Maya, her hand still roaming beneath her girlfriends shirt. "Emily." This time it was more persistent. "Okay, Emily. We have to stop." Emily snapped back.

"Why?"

"Your mom-"

"If you keep mentioning my mother, that is really going to put a damper on the mood-"

"If your mom comes home, she'll never let me in your house again. Is that what you really want?"

"She's not going to come home, dammit!" She brushed her hair from her face. "Not for a few more hours. If we keep wasting time-"

"-wasting time? What has gotten in to you?"

"I haven't kissed you in three weeks, Maya! I just want you. I just want to be with you. Is that honestly so surprising? I mean, is it that you don't want to be with me? Do you not want to be with me anymore? Because if that's it you just need to tell me, or something." she climbed off Maya and walked to the window ledge.

Maya shook her head. "Where is this coming from? This isn't you. You know I love you. That's exactly why I don't want to do this right now. I don't want to be forced away from you again." Maya watched as Emily squeezed her eyes shut. "I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't love you." She walked to Emily and placed her hands on each of Emily's shoulders. Emily jumped though and pulled away, clearly surprised by the contact. "I want you more than anything, Emily. I want all of you. I just want to make sure I can have all of you for the rest of our lives. I don't want your mom coming between us again."

"And you're sure that's all?"

"What else would it be?"

"He touched me," Emily croaked. "His hands were everywhere. He touched me everywhere. How can you want to be with me when he almost-"

"No." Maya grabbed Emily's arm and turned her around. "Don't you dare."

"I have been stuck in this room for three weeks. I haven't been allowed to touch you, or talk to you, or be with you. I haven't been allowed to do anything but sit around and think and think and think and when I close my eyes, I don't see you anymore like I used to. All I see is him. I feel his hands on me. I feel him touching me. I can smell his breath." She shivered and tears rolled down her cheeks. "My mom is gone today, Maya. Dammit, she's not here. She's not here and I'm really, really happy because I'm with you. All I want is to close my eyes and see you." she sucked in a breath. "I don't want to see him anymore," she sobbed. "I want you, and I'm afraid that you don't want me anymore after-" Maya placed a single finger on Emily's lips. When she pulled it away, she kissed Emily. It was soft, sweet and quick. It lasted no more than three seconds, but when Maya pulled away, Emily felt breathless.

"Close your eyes." said Maya.

* * *

><p>"You want to talk now?" asked Caleb. Hanna was still standing in the middle of the room. She nodded and collapsed back onto the couch and this time Caleb climbed up with her. She settled into the crook of his arm and closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths of his cologne. It was smoothing. Her tears dried enough to where they were soaking his shirt. Finally, after a long, silent five minutes, Hanna cleared her throat.<p>

"I think I'm more scared now than I was when we didn't know who A was." she wrapped her arms around Caleb's stomach. "Mike was Aria's little brother, you know? He did all of this to us. For months we walked around terrified of what A would make us do or what A would find out. The whole time it was someone we sat at the dinner table with. I mean, I knew it could be someone we knew, but I never guessed it would be Mike. Melissa, maybe. Mike?" she shook her head.

"So why are you more scared now?"

Hanna took a moment to think. "The last two years of my life has been nothing but lies. We would lie to our parents, our friends, everyone. I mean, the only people I had a real relationship with was Aria, Em and Spence. Mona is a joke."

"Are you afraid that you don't know how to tell the truth?"

"More like...I'm afraid I don't want to tell the truth. I kind of got used to it, you know? The sneaking around. I didn't like lying and I didn't like the things I had to do to keep the lies going, but it became second nature. I don't know if I know how to function around real people."

Caleb pulled Hanna closer and kissed the top of her head. "You'll be fine, you know. All of you will. It's going to take some time but everything gets better eventually, right? It has to." He fidgeted and managed to grab a hold of Hanna's hand. "If you ever want to talk.."

"I know." she smiled up at him. "Thank you."

"Have you and your mom talked about all this?"

Hanna groaned. "No," she mumbled. "My mom wants to talk. I want to talk to her. I just don't know how to explain everything I did, Caleb." She bit her lip and closed her eyes. "Everything we did. I mean, it's going to come out anyway, with the trial and all that."

"Maybe not."

"What do you mean?"

"Who says there is going to be a trial?"

"Mike committed a murder," Hanna said exasperatedly.

"There is so much evidence stocked piled against the poor kid, he might just get a plea deal. It happens. It may not always be fair to the victims, but it happens. He'll get a pretty big sentence, though. He did a lot."

"Yeah," she said. "He really did."

The door swung open and Ashley walked in, one arm wrapped around a grocery bag and the other hand balancing a pizza. She smiled at both Caleb and Hanna, this time more welcoming, and kicked the door shut behind her. "I didn't know what you guys were hungry for," she nodded towards the pizza. "I got some pizza and some Chinese. Hey Caleb, there are some heavy groceries in the car. Would you mind?"

Looking a bit surprised, Caleb nodded. "Of course." The two Marin girls watched Caleb jaunt out of the front door and then turned to each other.

"Are you two...?"

"Yeah," smiled Hanna. "No." She paused. "I don't know. We're working on it." Hanna stood and followed her mother into the kitchen where she grabbed a few plates down from the cabinet. "I'm sorry for earlier," she said, still looking down at the counter. Ashley froze with her hand on the fridge. Slowly the door closed and the two women turned to face each other. "For shutting you out," elaborated Hanna.

"Whenever you're ready." Though the smile was forced, Hanna knew the sincerity behind her mothers words. She stumbled forward with her arms outstretched and the two hugged just long enough for Caleb to come back in the house with an arm full of bags. Hanna cast him a shy look and then returned to setting the table. "Soda, Caleb?" offered Ashley.

"That'd be great, yeah."

* * *

><p>"Dad?" Aria knocked quietly on her father's office door. After fighting with Ella, Byron left out of the front door and drove away. She hadn't been sure, but Aria took a guess that he had gone to his office at Hollis. It seemed to be the place he was at most these days. Any other point in her life Aria would have immediately assumed that he was cheating on her mother again, but now she simply chalked it up to Byron not being able to handle the stress and tension that immediately suffocated anyone who walked through the Montgomery front door. Byron looked up from his desk and smiled, albeit weakly, and waved his daughter inside. "Sorry to bug you,"<p>

He shook his head. "You could never bug me." He pushed the stack of papers that were on his desk to one side and dropped the pen back into the holder. "What brings you to Hollis?"

Aria shrugged. "I just wanted to see you," She bit her lip. "Actually, I heard. You know, what happened with the lawyers."

"Ah."

"I agree with you. I think this is what's best."

"So you heard our disagreement."

"It was a little hard not too." Feeling as though she needed to apologize, Aria said: "I'm sorry."

Byron held up his hand. "Don't. You have nothing to apologize for, Aria. If anything, I should apologize to you. I'm sorry for not being there." The room lapsed into a silence. Aria stared down at her purple converse with disinterest. The clock on the wall ticked away. Neither party wanted to be the first to break the uncomfortable silence, but they both had so much built inside of them to say. Byron fiddled with a spare pen cap and tapped it against the desk. Suddenly the door swung open and an older man with greying hair and wrinkles creasing his eyes stepped in. He saw Aria and back stepped, but Byron waved him in. "Andrew," he smiled tiredly.

"Sorry Byron," Andrew nodded at Aria. "I didn't realize you were with a student."

"No, no. Please. This is my daughter."

"Ah, the infamous Aria!" Aria squirmed. Realizing what he said could take on more than an innocent 'your father talks about you all the time!' meaning, Andrew blushed a deep red and mumbled his apologies. "Just wanted to get this back to you. Real treat, reading it." He handed over a thick bulk of papers. His eyes flashed down to Aria seated in front of the desk and he cleared his throat. "I made some small corrections like you asked, but I definitely think it could be printed." Andrew wobbled his head funnily. "Even considering."

"Thank you." Byron said quickly. "I'll see to your corrections." Andrew nodded politely at Aria and exited the room. She watched as her father took the stack of papers and plopped them hastily in his desk, as if having no concern about them whatsoever.

"What was that about?"

"Oh, ah." he paused. "Nothing important. I wrote this thing-"

"Did you write a book?"

"I wouldn't call it a book."

"I want to read it!"

"Aria, please."

"No, come on, Dad."

"No."

"Are you going to try and get it published?"

"Definitely not."

"Why not? Come on, let me-"

"Aria!" he snapped. "Sorry," Byron pulled the drawer out and tossed the manuscript over to his daughter. "I can't publish it, Aria. I wrote it before, well, all of this. It's..." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "I wrote it loosely based on our family. A recovery story, you know. A family picking up the pieces after the dad makes the biggest mistake of his life." Aria ran her finger across the title and looked up at her father.

"Recovery." Even she had to chuckle at the word. "I guess we have to start all over again."

"I guess we do." replied Byron.

"You could still try and publish it."

"It wouldn't be complete."

"You said earlier that you didn't know who I was anymore."

"Aria, I didn't mean-"

"No, you're right. You don't know. I've lied to you and mom for months but I'm not sorry. I'm not sorry that I lied to protect everyone that I love. The only thing I'm sorry for is not figuring out it was Mike sooner and not being able to help him. I'm sorry for that." Aria looked down. "I made a friend in Ezra this year, actually." Her stomach tied itself in knots. "I know maybe that is weird for you, but we're friends. He helped me balance my life. He knew about A. Not all of it, and not really until the end, but he was a really good ear. We're friends, dad. I hope that's okay."

Byron thought for a moment. "I guess that's fine." he said. "He's not your teacher anymore. Just don't cross any lines."

"I'm not going to promise you that." Byron looked up in surprise. "Ezra and I are friends. Sometimes friendships blossom into something more. I'm not saying right now," she lied. Even though her heart was screaming at her to admit everything to her father, she knew it would be a mistake. "But maybe later down the line, Ezra and I could be something more. You want to know who I am, dad. That's who I am. I'm telling you what could happen in my life. I'm hoping you can respect that."

"Aria, there were rumors that Ezra and a student-"

"No, it wasn't me. It wasn't anyone, I promise." she lied again. "But one day maybe it will be me. I won't be his student though. I'm not even his student now. Would you be okay with that?"

"No," he replied honestly. "Ezra is my colleague and my friend. The idea of him dating my daughter...but when you're eighteen, I won't have much control of the situation." he sighed. "He is quite a bit older than you, Aria."

"Seven years." she replied. "I know it seems like a lot."

"Because it is a lot."

"It won't be when I'm a bit older. Right now, yeah, it seems like a lot. But in a couple years, that's nothing. I'm not saying anything is going to happen right now. Ezra and I haven't even really discussed it. It's just, you know, there. The inevitable, you know? And I want you to know something about me. I want you to feel like you know me. I feel like I've disappointed you so much. This is something huge that I'm telling you right now." She leaned back in her chair. "Let's just not tell mom. Maybe not right away, you know. She's got enough on her plate."

Byron laughed. "Yeah, maybe we can keep this between us. Just for now." His face turned serious. "But Aria, I don't want anything _like__that_happening between you and Ezra for a very long time."

"Of course." she said, a weight crushing on her stomach. "Don't worry. We're definitely just friends."

* * *

><p>"Keep them closed," whispered Maya into Emily's ear. Tingles ran down Emily's arms leaving a trail of goosebumps. She shook slightly, partly from nerves and partly from Maya's lips just barely grazing her earlobe. Maya's arm wrapped loosely around Emily's waist and her fingers tenderly tickled beneath the back of Emily's shirt. They danced to their own rhythm, tap tap tapping away to the music playing in Maya's head. Emily let a shivering sigh slip from her lips as Maya kissed her way along Emily's cheekbone, just narrowly missing her lips to move to the other side of Emily's face. She removed her hand from Emily's back and instead brought it up to just lightly touch Emily's face. One single finger traced Emily's jaw, her lips, her nose, and then Maya's full hand ran through Emily's long tresses of raven colored hair. Emily stumbled back slightly, and Maya giggled. "You don't even realize how beautiful you are to me," she muttered.<p>

Maya looped her fingers with Emily's and, while staring directly into Emily's closed eyes to make sure they stayed clothes, she tugged her playfully towards the bed. She backed Emily down so she was seated, and though Emily attempted to scoot back and back room for Maya, Maya held her in one place. "Stay," she demanded. Instead of sitting on the bed with Emily, Maya knelt before her girlfriend and gripped onto the bottom of Emily's shirt. She began pulling up. Emily resisted for only a few seconds. "I have bruises," she whispered hoarsely.

"I know." replied Maya. "Keep your eyes closed."

"Maya-"

"Closed." Maya tossed Emily's shirt across the room, not caring where it landed. Her fingers lightly traced the blotches still visible on Emily's stomach. They were a mixture of colors; some purple, some dark blue, some yellow. Each one Maya saw, she placed a small kiss upon. Emily squirmed. "You're just as beautiful to me now as you were before anything happened," said Maya as she kissed down Emily's torso. "This mark here? It doesn't matter who made it," she kissed it. "Because I'm the only one who will ever kiss it." Maya ran her hands up along Emily's sides. "When you close your eyes, you don't have to think of him. Just think of this. Just think of me." Again, Maya planted trails of kissing up and down Emily's body. She pushed herself up again so she was level with Emily. "Don't ever think I don't want you," she mumbled into the smooth skin of her neck. "Because I can't see a day the future where I won't want to be looking at you like this, touching you like this-" she ran her hand across Emily's cheek. "-kissing you like this-" Their lips met, Maya's tongue slipping inside Emily's mouth for just the smallest second. "-it isn't that I don't want to lay here with you or make love to you, Emily, because you're the most beautiful person on the planet." she pushed Emily back onto the bed and climbed so she was straddling her. "It's that I don't want to make love to you for any of the wrong reasons. I don't want you to need me to make love to you. I want you to want me to. I want you to know that I'm making love to you because I love you, not because this may be one of the only opportunities your mom leaves you alone." She ran her hands up Emily's stomach, causing the girl beneath her to shiver with anticipation. "I don't want it to be quick because we have to hurry, I want it to be slow. I want it to last forever." A single tear pushed through Emily's closed eyes. Maya brushed it away. "Open your eyes." Emily's eyes fluttered open. "Now close them." Emily didn't hesitate. She closed her eyes. "Do you still see him?"

Emily didn't answer. She barely even opened her eyes before leaning forward and cupping Maya's face between her hands. Their lips fell together, and more salty tears ran from Emily's chocolate brown eyes. At some point, Maya began crying too, and their tears collided together forming one solid stream. Emily pulled away giggling and wiping the tears from her face. "Thank you," she whispered after her laughter finally died away. "I don't know what I did to deserve you, or this."

"I know. I'm pretty damn perfect." joked Maya. They both laughed and Maya rolled off of Emily and to the side. They laid there for a moment before hearing the front door open and shut. Maya leapt off Emily's bed and grabbed her discarded shirt. Emily yanked it over her head and giggled as Maya grabbed the tray of food off the floor, plopped it on Emily's bed, and then quickly took her position in the armchair.

"Home!" Mrs. Fields shouted up the stairs.

"Yeah," Emily looked at Maya. "I'm finally home, too."

* * *

><p><strong>I know I've probably lost 90% of the readership on this story due to lack of update in two months. This story is now COMPLETE. I'm so sorry it took as long as it did. My personal life exploded and this chapter was actually 99% completed at one point when my laptop crashed and I lost it all. At that point, I was so discouraged and so stressed out, I didn't even want to think about restarting it. I finally got the drive this past weekend and worked on this for seven straight hours. I'm glad that it took me as long to finish this as it did, because I'm pretty happy with how it ended. It wouldn't have been this chapter if I put up what I had before.<strong>

**Thank you all SO MUCH for your AMAZING reviews and your support throughout this story. If you like my writing, please make sure to add me to your author alerts so you know when I publish another PLL fan fiction. I have something in the works but I want to get a few chapters in before posting anything. **

**Please leave a review letting me know what you thought about this final chapter.**

**QUESTION FOR THIS CHAPTER: What was something you wished had happened in the story but hadn't? Is there anything you would have changed? Leave a review and let me know. :)**


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